


Gingerbread Wish

by Frappexo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Christmas fic, M/M, Santa eats gingerbread walls, Sehun just wanted to buy a gift, Sehun likes Yixing's eyes, Yixing doesn't know how to land a sleigh, Yixing is an elf, slow burn i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2019-09-27 03:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17154035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frappexo/pseuds/Frappexo
Summary: Sehun had come to the mall with the intention of buying a gift for his soon-to-be boyfriend, Zitao. But instead of looking for the perfect gift, he’s being chased by a weird, definitely not handsome guy, who claims that, (1) he comes from the North Pole; (2) he needs to find another Santa as soon as possible; and (3) Sehun is perfect to be that replacement.He doesn’t believe him. He thinks that this guy got snow in his head and his brain froze. But what would happen if he accepts? Will he be able to find a solution to his one-sided love? And most important, will he have any other option but to realize that some Christmas wishes are not so easy to fulfill?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

>   
> **DISCLAIMER**  
>   
>  I do not own anything that is not the story itself. I am not affiliated with EXO, SM Entertainment, Luhan, Wu Yifan, or Huang Zitao, and I take no responsibility for the misuse and/or misinterpretation of the content posted here.
> 
> Any similarity that this fanfiction and/or the character(s) may have with another fanfiction or real-life events, is mere coincidence.  
>   
>  **English is not my first language.**  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is:
> 
> **“The Star”** by **EXO**
> 
> You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RNiHiH6jSCAtfZhRjQU1U) .  
> 
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

> **O N E**
> 
> **_CHRISTMAS MAGIC_ **

 

 

Why did everyone have to come at the same time to the mall a week before Christmas? It wasn’t as if they were going to find better prices. Nor better gifts. All the stores were in complete disarray, with all their items scattered everywhere; many of them already touched by more than a dozen hands. Those items were absolutely not gift material, and Zitao deserved something perfect.

He should’ve done this before, Sehun realized. Why hadn’t he? He didn’t know. He was currently looking for a Christmas gift for his boyfriend but he wasn’t having so much success, and, uh… _Alright_ , Zitao wasn’t his boyfriend— _yet_ —but that’s why he was here. He had to find him the best gift ever, so he would be confident enough to finally confess his feelings.

He had been in love with Huang Zitao for more than he could remember— _alright!_ He _did_ remember. He met the Chinese man during his second semester in university and from that moment on, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.

Zitao was handsome, funny, and smart; a little bit over reactive, but his extraordinary skills in martial arts compensated it. He was simply amazing. He had never known someone as interesting as Zitao before, so it was logical for him to fall in love. That had been almost four years ago, but Sehun was still deeply attracted to the guy. His problem was that, no matter how hard he tried, Zitao never looked at him that way. He considered Sehun to be like… a good classmate. It wasn’t as if they were close because, really, they weren’t. Sehun had tried several times to start a conversation, but he never knew what to talk about with him. And so their interactions were reduced to saying ‘hi’ only when they passed next to each other through the corridors.

That was why he was in his current predicament. He had to find something that could develop their relationship from being acquaintances—and not even that—to future best couple ever.

He was standing in the mall’s concourse, next to the entrance of the elevator. He turned his head to all directions, trying to find a store where he hadn’t stepped yet. He had been there for about two hours, wandering from store to store. Analyzing clothes, shoes, handbags, electronic devices, books… but nothing seemed good enough. Maybe he should try in the jewelry shops. Jewels were beautiful, and Zitao loved jewelry. His hands were always full of rings and he had some piercings as well. He loved anything that screamed _bling-bling_ , so maybe buying him a jewel wouldn’t be so—

The elevator doors opened and Sehun was pulled by the collar of his sweater inwards. Immediately, the doors closed and the machine began to move up. A hand appeared behind him, pressing the stop button; causing the elevator to stop abruptly and making them wobble a bit. The hand that held him by the neck released him, and Sehun turned quickly to see who the madman who had pulled him in was.

A smiling guy was in front of him, looking at him as if nothing weird had just happened a moment ago. He was a few centimeters shorter and his skin was as pale as the snow falling outside the mall. One of his cheeks was framed by a dimple that seemed to have no bottom. His eyes were sparkly; more than what Sehun had ever seen in any other pair of eyes. His hair was black, like one of those coals Santa Claus gave to bad children.

At this, Sehun wanted to laugh.

This unknown guy, in fact, had the façade of having escaped from Santa’s toys factory. He wore a green shirt with long sleeves, buttoned up to the neck; decorated with a small crimson bowtie. His pants were folded at the bottom, showing his socks, which had patterns that made them look almost as ugly as a Christmas sweater. And not to mention his ears! They were somewhat pointy, making him look like an elf. An attractive, not shorty elf.

“Hello!” The elf-ish guy said, smiling wider.

“Uh…” Sehun stared at him, not knowing what to say. “Hi?”

It wasn’t meant to sound like a question, but he was taken aback. Not that he was socially awkward or something, but not every day he was choked inside an elevator by a stranger who looked like an elf.

“Yes, hi. My name’s Yixing and I come from the North Pole.”

Sehun blinked a few times, dumbfounded. Had he just said the North Pole?

“I’m not supposed to be doing this, and actually, I’m not supposed to be here,” this Yixing guy said, moving his hands dramatically. “But something happened a few hours ago and I really, _really_ need your help.

“You’ll see, The Elf Villa and Santa’s toys factory are made of gingerbread cookie. My job—“he put his hands to his chest“—is to prepare the ginger dough and repair any imperfections that may be inside the constructions; like holes in walls or ceilings. For some reason that I won’t mention, I had to put non-edible ingredients in the dough and there’s a small possibility that Santa ate a piece of the wall and now he’s intoxicated, completely unavailable to work this Christmas.

“And there’s where I need your help! I’ve been walking around, trying to find someone who might be suitable for the job. Then I saw you and I knew you were the one! You’re perfect! Definitely the one that I’ve been looking for! So you’ll come with me to the North Pole; I’ll teach you how to be Santa; and you’ll be his replacement until he’s fine again!”

Sehun stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and tell him that it was a joke. But such thing never happened. The guy looked very proud of himself, as if what he had just said wasn’t a complete mess of an idea, taken from a very bad produced movie, with an even worse plot.

“What did you just say?” Sehun asked, still trying to process.

Yixing-elf guy widened his eyes and his mouth fell open. “Please don’t make me repeat all that!”

At that moment Sehun wanted to get out of the elevator. He glanced at the red button, wondering how fast he would have to be before the man reached it first.

“Don’t even think about it,” Yixing said. “I used my Christmas magic and the buttons can’t be pushed until I feel like it.”

Sehun gave him a weird look, almost judging him. This guy had a problem.

”Look, I know this is complicated,” Yixing continued, “but you just have to come with me and I’ll make the rest.”

“I won’t go anywhere with you,” Sehun finally managed to say.

Yixing frowned and his mouth fell open again. “Why not?!”

“Why not? You ask me _why not?_ Maybe it’s because—”Sehun raised his eyebrows and began to put his fingers up with each sentence he said”—I don’t know who you are. You’re retaining me here against my will. And you’re talking as if you were and elf!”

“I _am_ an elf!” Yixing looked offended. “And I already told you that I’m Yixing. You do know who I am.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” Yixing crossed his arms. “Explain yourself.”

Sehun stared at him for a while, and then he simply said, “Let me out of here.”

“No before you accept.”

Sehun rolled his eyes and sighed, looking at the ground through the glass walls in the elevator. The people out there were still walking around, roaming through the stores. Would someone be waiting for the elevator? They had to get out of there.

“Do you accept?”

Sehun looked at Yixing again and found him chewing nervously his lip. How could he leave? Maybe if he said yes, Yixing would let him out. Then he would simply continue with his business, leaving the guy behind.

“If I agree,” Sehun began, not believing he was going to follow his game, “will you use your magic so I can push the button again?”

Yixing nodded quickly, disheveling his fringe. “Yes! I’ll get you out of here.”

Sehun watched him intently, trying to see whether Yixing was lying to him. The weird man looked quite calm, as if he believed that he really did have magic. Sehun didn’t find a hint of trickery in his expression.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll… I’ll help you.”

Yixing’s face lit up, making his dimple appear when he beamed at him. Yixing was a weird guy, but he had a pretty smile; Sehun had to grant him that.

“You can push the button, then.”

Not turning away from Yixing, Sehun slowly extended his hand until he touched the button. The elevator started again, causing them to wobble once more. The trip was short and when the doors opened, Sehun left immediately, not even turning to look at Yixing. He walked quickly, trying to get as far away from him as possible. He didn’t consider, however, that Yixing knew how to run and in a moment he had him in front of him again.

“Where are you going?” Yixing asked, extending his arms to stop him. “The sleigh’s not in this direction.”

Oh, and he also had a sleigh! _Unbelievable._

“Listen, Yixing,” Sehun moved uncomfortably in his place. “It was fun to play the Santa elves with you and everything, but I have things to do, so…”

He surrounded Yixing, beginning to walk aimlessly. What was he doing before crossing paths with the guy? Ah, yes! The jewel for Zitao! Where was the jewelry store? He had seen it somewhere befo—

“We were not playing!” Yixing interrupted his thoughts, walking beside him and trying to keep his pace. “And you said you would help me if I let you out! That’s what I did. Now you have to come with me.”

“I didn’t mean it, you know? I just wanted you to let me out.”

A sharp gasp reached his ears and Sehun turned back, finding a very shocked Yixing.

“ _Did you lie?!_ ”

“Uh…” Sehun looked around, feeling uncomfortable. People had begun to stare. “Yeah.”

Yixing gaped at him and Sehun had to suppress his laughter. He looked funny.

“ _How dare you?!_ ” The man walked toward Sehun and pressed a finger to his chest. “Did you write Santa a letter? Because if you did, Kyungsoo will make sure to put your name on the Naughty List!”

Sehun gave two steps backward and frowned. “What? Who’s Kyungsoo? _No_ , wait. I don’t want to know. Just leave me alone.”

He continued on his way to the jewelry store, leaving Yixing again. He could already see the place down the hallway. Yixing followed him, telling him that he really needed his help, but Sehun simply ignored him. Once in the store, he entered without waiting for Yixing to arrive. He let the door close, almost hitting the guy in the face.

The store wasn’t as crowded as the rest of the mall. There were about six or seven people, talking to the employees or watching the items on display. There was a glass wall that allowed people to see the parking lot and, in the distance, the buildings of Seoul. Sehun noticed that it was snowing again.

He began to walk around, looking intently at each jewel. Some were small and simple; others were huge and swanky. What would Zitao’s style be? Sehun pondered it for a moment and concluded that it was undeniably huge and swanky.

“What are you looking for?”

Yixing was staring at him, with a curious look.

“Nothing.” He moved to another counter, which had gold bracelets.

“Are you looking for a gift?”

“…Maybe.”

Sehun didn’t like those bracelets. They didn’t look like something Zitao would use.

“Is it for a boy or for a girl?” Yixing asked, following him to the next counter.

“Boy.”

“What’s his name?”

“Zitao.”

Sehun frowned. Why was he giving Yixing that information? He didn’t even know him. He could be someone who wanted to harm him. What if he was a kidnapper? Yixing looked like a cute, somewhat delusional but innocent guy, yet Sehun couldn’t afford to trust his appearance. He had seen enough movies that supported that idea.

“Oh… Is he your significant other?”

Sehun felt his face heat up. He avoided looking at the other when he said, “Yeah…”

Yixing nodded and stayed in silence for a while, letting him see the jewels in peace.

They arrived at a counter that had earrings of different sizes and colors. Sehun was looking at a shiny one, with a small diamond in it. It definitely looked like something Zitao would like. He smiled, thinking about Zitao’s face when he saw it inside the small box. He would be so happy that he—

“What do you think about that one?”

Sehun’s thoughts were interrupted—again—by Yixing when the latter spoke. He almost rolled his eyes, but restrained himself because, to be honest, he was open to any opinion. He still wasn’t sure what to buy. His eyes landed where Yixing’s finger was pointing. It was an earring that looked like a small and shiny snowflake. Sehun analyzed it with curiosity, finding it pretty.   

“That’s the one I would choose,” Yixing said.

Sehun contorted his face, deep in thought. It was pretty, yes, but he couldn’t imagine Zitao using something like that. Would it be his style?

“I think it looks great,” Yixing said, leaning over the counter to see the jewel closely. “If it were for me, I would never use anything else.”

Sehun raised an eyebrow. “Would you like to get a piercing?”

“Oh, I already have one.” Yixing turned his head, pointing to his left ear. “You see?”

Sehun saw a small, sparkly earring in that elf-like ear. It was simple, but it somehow gave him an elegant and discreet look. He hadn’t even noticed it before.

“But it’s not about me, of course, so feel free to choose whatever you want.” Yixing smiled at him, and Sehun just nodded, not knowing what to say.

He contemplated the snowflake earring and then asked, “Why would you choose that one?”

Yixing pursed his lips, thinking. Then he looked at the window and a smile crept slowly up his face. Without giving Sehun time to react, he took him from his wrist and walked out of the store.

“Wait! Wait!” Sehun exclaimed, trying to free his arm. “Where are you taking me? Let me go!”

“Stop moving like that. You’re going to make us fall.” Yixing kept pulling him, heading to the escalators. “We’re just going to the parking lot.”

Sehun stopped his fight and let Yixing pull him. He didn’t want to fall. Now that he was on his way out, he didn’t want to go back inside, either. He wanted to go home. He had no idea what to buy, anyway.

When they finally got out, the snow began to accumulate on their heads. Yixing led them to an area where there weren’t many people and stopped behind the furthest car. He crouched behind it and pulled him to do the same. Sehun tugged on his arm and Yixing finally released him.

“What are we doing here?”

“You asked me why I would choose the snowflake earring, right?” Yixing didn’t even give Sehun time to reply. “If I give you the perfect gift for Zitao, would you finally come with me and give me a hand?”

“There you go again!” Sehun rolled his eyes and shook his head. Didn’t he give up? “I already told you that I won’t go anywhere with you.”

“Yet you’re still here.” Yixing raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Sehun frowned and unwillingly admitted that Yixing was right. Why was he still here? He could’ve left him a long time ago. His car was nearby. At this moment he could be on his way home, enjoying the heating of his car instead of freezing behind the car of a stranger.

“Look, I know that you don’t believe me, but could you please let me show you something? Just let me try it. I’m sure that after this you’ll be willing to help me.” Yixing looked at him, patiently waiting for a response.

Sehun sighed and shook his head. Seriously, why was he still here?

“Fine,” he said. “Show me what you can do.”

Yixing's eyes widened dramatically. “Really?!” Sehun nodded and Yixing immediately pointed a finger toward him. “Promise me that you won’t try to escape again.”

Sehun rolled his eyes, but still raised his right hand as a sign of promise. However, he sneakily hid his left hand behind his back and crossed his fingers. He would never make promises with strangers.

Yixing, without realizing he was being cheated on, nodded approvingly. He then extended his hand and let snow fall on his palm. Once he had enough, a trail of white glittery light began to sprout from his palm. The snow began to spin, forming a small whirlwind. When it stopped, little white dots fell on Yixing’s palm, sparkling every time he moved his hand.

Sehun witnessed the act gaping, with his eyes wide open. What the hell was that?! Had he gone crazy? Was Yixing’s delusion contagious?!

“Each snowflake is one-of-a-kind,” Yixing began to explain. At the same time, all the little dots that were on his palm began to spin again, increasing its size; showing Sehun that they weren’t dots, but snowflakes. “They’re unique and special. There’s literally no single one that’s the same as any other.” When the snowflakes were big enough to be seen by the naked eye, he placed his hand in front of Sehun. “Choose one.”

Sehun was still in shock, but when he saw that the man in front of him was waiting for him to do something, he stared at his palm, admiring the snowflakes. He realized that what Yixing had said was true. None of the snowflakes were the same. Some were similar to those he had seen in drawings. Others were hexagonal; rounded; triangular; shaped like leaves; with spikes at the tips; shapeless; but none looked alike.

His eyes landed in one that reminded him a barbed wire, with long peaks that had smaller ones on the sides. That snowflake was extravagant; almost wild. It surely had Zitao’s name engraved on each of its peaks.

“I like that one,” he said, pointing at it.

Yixing nodded and the trail of white glittery light appeared again.

“I would choose that earring because of its meaning.” Sehun’s snowflake floated while the others disappeared. Then swirls of glitter surrounded it, and little by little, a transparent layer began to form around it. “Giving Zitao a snowflake means that there’s no one in this world like him. He’s unique. He’s special. Just like a snowflake.”

Yixing took Sehun’s hand and extended it. When the swirls disappeared, he made a small sphere fell delicately on Sehun’s palm. “Romantic, isn’t it?”

Sehun stared at the sphere in awe. It was gorgeous. He could imagine it being the pendant of a necklace; the jewel of a ring; or the pearl in a bracelet. He had tons of ideas hovering his head and none resembled something he had ever seen before. Zitao would undoubtedly love it.

He looked at Yixing and found him smiling. His expression was serene, as if he had no worries in life. Sehun felt that his smile transmitted him peace, making him believe that everything was possible—he had just seen him turn a small fleck of snow into a beautiful, transparent pearl, so maybe it was.

“Can I keep it?” he asked, staring down at the pearl again.

“Sure! I made it for you.”

They stayed like that for a while, without saying anything. Sehun was still dazzled, thinking about jewelry, magic and swirls of glitter, that at the moment when Yixing spoke again, he startled.

“So, uhm…” Yixing scratched the back of his neck. The calm image of a moment ago had already disappeared. “Can we get going now?”

Sehun’s eyebrows rose up to his hairline. He had forgotten that. He was about to tell him that he would have to find help elsewhere when, suddenly, an idea popped in his head.

“Was that real magic?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Wasn’t the thing with the snow enough evidence?!”

Sehun hummed, bringing a hand to his chin. “Then if you can do magic, it means that you can make Zitao fall in love with me, right?”

It was time for Yixing to raise his eyebrows. “What?”

“You can put a spell on him. He would want to be with me and we’ll finally be together!”

Yixing shook his head repeatedly, with his eyes now wide open. “No, no, no! I can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Christmas magic isn’t supposed to be used for that.”

Sehun stared at him, confused. “Christmas magic?”

“Yeah, it’s the magic that arises in elves in December. We become magical in order to carry out efficiently all the preparations for the _Gift Operation_. When it is successfully completed, at midnight on December 26, it fades away.”

Sehun raised his eyebrows in amazement. “Interesting.”

“I guess it is.” Yixing shrugged, unknowing that he had just changed Sehun's perspective on the world and the unknown.

“Can you use that magic as you please?” Sehun asked. “I mean, you use it for your… uh… Christmas activities, but can you use it on anything else? Like on…” His eyes then widened, remembering the elevator. “The button. In the elevator. It couldn’t really be pressed, could it? You weren’t lying about that.”

“Of course I wasn’t!” Yixing looked at him scandalized, as if Sehun thinking he had lied was a crime. “I told you I had used Christmas magic on it.”

“Then you can use it on Zitao.”

Yixing shook his head, disheveling his fringe even more. “Didn’t you hear me? We can’t do something that’s not Christmas-related!”

“Then why did you use it on the button?” Sehun frowned. “Or on this?!” He held the pearl between his thumb and forefinger, shaking his hand to emphasize his question. “Those were definitely not Christmas-related things.”

“That was a special case! What you’re asking for is different; I can’t do it.” Sehun looked at him with a deadpan expression, and Yixing rubbed his face, taking a deep breath. “I’m being serious. I can’t help you with that. If I try it, the magic won’t last long and everything will go back to how it was.”

“You’re saying that so you won’t have to help me!” Sehun shook his head in disbelief. It couldn’t be possible that this… _elf_ -guy-whatever was making him so dirty. He didn’t deserve such humiliation. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t need you.” He stood up, realizing that his legs had gone numb from staying in the same position for so long. “Good luck finding someone else to fool.”

Not sending Yixing another glance, he walked out behind the car and moved to find his own car. He secured the small pearl in his fist and shook off his clothes, removing the snow that had accumulated on him as he watched the magic.

“Hey, no! Wait!” Yixing shouted behind him, but Sehun ignored him.

Where was his car? He didn’t even remember where he had parked it. Great.

“Wait! Wait!” Yixing reached him and took him by the arm. “You promised me that you wouldn’t try to escape.”

Sehun grimaced and shrugged Yixing’s hand off his arm. “I’m not escaping. I’m going home.”

“But you can’t go home. We have to—”

“Ugh! You talk too much!” Sehun stopped in his tracks, interrupting Yixing. The latter pouted and Sehun found the gesture somewhat… _cute_. “Listen.” He sighed, trying to speak more calmly. “I’ll propose you this. I’ll do whatever you want me to do—”Yixing’s face lit up and Sehun raised one finger”— _if_ you help me with Zitao.”

Yixing’s joyful expression vanished, now looking discouraged.

“I’ve told you several times that I can’t.”

“And I’ve told _you_ several times that I won’t go anywhere with you, yet here we are.”

Yixing sighed, seeming frustrated—the man! How dare he?! In any case, the frustrated one should be Sehun, not him.

“Please don’t be like that,” Yixing said. “This is seriously an emergency. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need your help.”

“I _also_ need your help, but you’re refusing to help me. We have nothing to discuss here.”

Sehun walked away again, but Yixing continued following him, almost running to keep the pace with Sehun’s quick steps.

“Don’t you think that’s a little bit hypocritical?” the elf asked, dodging a mirror when Sehun walked between two cars. “Why would I help you when you don’t even want to help me?”

“Because good people help others without expecting something in return.”

Sehun saw in the distance a car that looked like his and headed toward it.

“There’s exactly where the hypocrisy is.” Yixing had started to sound breathless, but it seemed that not even his fatigue would make him stop following Sehun. “You’re the one who’s conditioning his help in exchange for my magic.”

“I’ve been dealing with this romantic issue for a long time, you know?” Sehun pursed his lips when he saw that that wasn’t his car, but didn’t lose any second and continued his search. “Extreme issues require extreme measures. With your help I’ll prevent myself from dying alone.”

“Don’t be dramatic. I’m sure you won’t die alone and _why do you walk so fast?!”_

Yixing took a big, deep breath and Sehun stopped in his tracks. Not for Yixing to take a break, of course. He wanted to stop so he could remember where his car was. It had nothing to do with Yixing or his fatigue.

He turned to find the guy with his hands on his knees, trying to normalize his breathing.

"You really have a bad physical condition, don’t you?”

“I’m an elf,” Yixing panted. “We make toys, not run marathons.”

Sehun, without realizing, smiled. He waited there until he was sure that the air was normally reaching Yixing’s lungs again.

“Alright,” Yixing said once he recovered. “Let’s stop this. This is ridiculous.”

“You’re the one who’s been following me the whole time. You should tell yourself that.”

“Ha. Ha.” Yixing faked a smile and then dramatically sighed, dropping his shoulders heavily. “This is more difficult than I thought. You’re hard to convince.” He sent Sehun a teasing smile, shaking his head. “You know, if we were in a book, we would’ve already added unnecessary scenes to the story. The characters usually refuse once or twice, and then accept. They make it seem so easy…”

“Well, little reminder that this isn’t a story but real life.”

Sehun chuckled when Yixing glared at him, but decided to drop the topic. He discovered that his car was a few meters ahead. He just had to surround the elf and in less than a minute he would be on his way back home. However, he didn’t even intend to reach the vehicle. All he did was to look at Yixing, who was now staring at the floor, tracing lines with the tip of his shoe on the snow.

“Why is it so hard for you to help me out with Zitao?” he suddenly asked, startling Yixing.

“Because…” the elf seemed to ponder his answer for a moment. “I wasn’t lying when I said that it wouldn’t last long. My field of work only involves Christmas. If I use my magic in something non-Christmas related, it won’t have the permanent effect that it’s supposed to have. It’ll be temporary, making it go back to normal before you even notice.”

Sehun stared at him, contemplating in awe the most sincere expression he had ever seen in his life. He could tell he wasn’t lying.

“And that’s not how love works, anyway.” Yixing was now looking at the snow, deep in thought. “You can’t force it. If you two are meant to be together, that’ll be in due time. Besides—“he connected his eyes with Sehun’s and wrinkled his nose”—Taemin would kill me if I ruined his plans, and believe me, I don’t want to die yet.”

“Who’s Taemin?”

“Oh, it’s Cupid’s real name.” Yixing smiled slightly, putting his hands in the pockets of his pants.

Sehun’s mouth formed an ‘o’ and his eyebrows went up— _so Cupid had a name…_ What would the Tooth Fairy’s name be? Or the Easter Rabbit’s? Would it even be a rabbit or a person?

All of a sudden he remembered the little pearl he had in his fist, and worry crept up his chest.

“Uhm… So… About the snowflake…” Yixing tilted his head and Sehun showed him the little jewel. “Will it eventually disappear?”

“Nope. The magic is permanent.” Sehun sent him a questioning look and Yixing shrugged. “It’s a Christmas gift.”

Sehun nodded, relieved.

He then thought for a moment about Yixing's words; the ones about love. Although he had trouble admitting it, the elf was right. And he really didn’t want Zitao to fall in love with him thanks to magic. He wanted him to realize by himself that Sehun might be the best boyfriend he could ever have in his life, even if it sounded ridiculously corny—Sehun was ridiculously corny, he couldn’t help it.

After a while he noticed that Yixing was very quiet. He sent him a glance and saw that the elf was just standing there, still playing with his feet on the snow. He hadn’t pressed him anymore about going with him, and then it hit Sehun that Yixing was waiting for him to decide whether he would accept to help him or not.

“Yixing,” he finally said. When the elf connected his eyes with him, he noticed how crestfallen Yixing was, as if he was just waiting for him to say that he would have to look for someone else. Sehun, for some reason, didn’t like that image. That’s why he, hoping not to regret it, simply asked, “Where’s your sleigh?”

Yixing’s face lit up in record time, causing Sehun to smile. That happy look fit him better.

“Are you really going to help me?” Yixing asked again, just to confirm he had understood. “This isn’t a trick? Will you no longer try to escape?”

Sehun laughed and shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to visit the North Pole, so…”

The smile that Yixing offered him was so big, that Sehun was sure that it must hurt.

“Alright,” Yixing said. “Then we gotta go now. The sleigh’s over here.”

Yixing walked toward an area full of trees—or at least that was what they were supposed to be during the spring—and Sehun followed him. He couldn’t see any sleigh, but he assumed it was because there were still some cars blocking his vision. However, when Yixing stopped next to a trunk, Sehun realized that he couldn’t see anything because, in fact, there was nothing in there.

“Weren’t we going to your sleigh?”

“We’re here, but… Uh…”

Yixing was focused on walking in circles next to the trunk, hunched as if looking for something. He dragged his hand in the air as if he were caressing a surface, and Sehun began to wonder what the hell he had got himself into.

“Jongdae, my man, you did an amazing job,” Yixing mumbled to himself. “You wanted to prevent sleighs from being easily found? Well, congrats! Now not even elves can— _aha!_ Here it is!”

He pressed his hand in the air, just like he would with a button, and then a series of lights appeared, forming a rectangle. The lights blinked three times, and then a gate opened up, showing what appeared to be the interior of a car made of red felt. Sehun stared in amazement, increasingly surprised at what Yixing was revealing to him.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Yixing asked, smiling weirdly at him. He pointed toward the red seat and Sehun slowly approached.

Once near, he realized that it did look like a car from the inside. He warily got in and Yixing closed the door when he was well seated. Sehun saw that, from the inside, the sleight had all the looks of a brand new car. There were small light bulbs on the ceiling, which perfectly illuminated the small area. The board had screens—three to be exact—with some buttons on top of them. The seats were, indeed, made of felt; so soft that cotton would be rough in comparison with it. There were only two seats, one of which Yixing occupied as soon as he also got in the sleigh.

The elf began to push some buttons and then the screens turned on. The first one had a circle in the middle, which seemed to be some type of steering wheel. The second one showed a globe, and under the blue sphere, there was a text box. Finally, the third screen, which was in front of him, had a speedometer in the middle. Around it were small boxes that showed symbols of the technical specifications of the sleigh; such as the state of the battery, the engine, or the flashing lights.

Sehun was certain that he looked stupid, with his eyes wide open and his mouth dropped to the ground, but he couldn’t help it. It was quite an advanced technology what he had over there. He felt like a kid inside a toy store, looking his surroundings astonished and wanting to play with everything that was within his reach.

“Do you like it?” Yixing suddenly asked. He was staring at him from his seat, looking rather amused by Sehun’s reaction.

Sehun was sure that he now looked like a tomato. It was embarrassing to be _that_ excited about the interior of a vehicle. In his defense, it wasn’t just a simple vehicle. It looked like something taken out of a futuristic movie; and not to mention that this vehicle was a sleigh.

“It’s… I guess it’s okay,” Sehun said, trying to save his image.

Yixing nodded and his smile grew wider, but he preferred to change the topic. “So…” he scanned the screen in front of him and then pressed a button that made the sleigh vibrate slightly. He had just turned the engine on. “Since I spent a lot of time chasing you, don’t you think it’s fair to tell me your name?”

_Oh!_ Hadn’t he introduced himself?

_Well, duh._

He had been more focused on getting away from Yixing. There was no time for introductions.

“I would prefer to call it harassment, but ‘chasing’ sounds good, too,” Sehun said, making Yixing laugh. “And my name’s Sehun,” he added, leaning back in his seat.

He saw Yixing pressing more buttons and adjusting things on the screen. He actually didn’t understand what he was doing, but he looked like a professional. He didn’t know sleighs had such technology. _Which reminded him…_

“Don’t sleighs usually move with the help of reindeer?”

Yixing laughed again and Sehun wanted to know whether he was happy or he was making fun of him.

“The only sleigh that uses reindeer is Santa’s.” Yixing touched the second screen and the globe began to rotate slowly. Then, pressing the text box under it, a keyboard with the numbers from 0 to 9, and the letters N, S, E, and W, replaced the globe on the screen. “And speaking of… I need to know something,” he said as he wrote 90°00’00”N in the text box. “Do you believe in Santa?”

Sehun saw how the keyboard disappeared and the screen zoomed in the globe until it was in a completely white area. Above the text box, three different lines appeared— _‘Flight route: 6,408.57 km.’_ ; ‘ _Normal flight time: 8h 2min.’;_ and _‘Estimated flight time: 47min.’_

Yixing put his palm on the first screen, pressing the steering wheel. The sleigh began to fly and Sehun felt the excitement building up inside his stomach. He looked down at the ground, watching the tree now a few meters below them.

“No,” he simply said after remembering he had a question to answer.

“Great!” Yixing smiled, still facing to the front. “That will make— _what do you mean you don’t believe in Santa?!_ ” He snapped his head toward Sehun, completely flabbergasted.

Sehun shook his hand, telling him to face to the front again. The elf did as he was told, but Sehun could still see how shocked he was.

“He’s an invention of parents so their children will be good kids. He’s not real.”

Yixing gasped and his jaw dropped. “You _do_ realize that _that_ invention is the reason why you’re going to the North Pole for the first time ever, right?!” Sehun didn’t reply and Yixing shook his head. “This is unbelievable.”

Sehun shrank uncomfortably in his seat, realizing that his way of thinking didn’t match what he was about to do. Where was the logic of life now? _Oh, yes!_ That had ceased to exist when Yixing pulled him inside the elevator.

“By the way,” the elf continued. “It’s none of my business, but I would recommend you to let someone know that you won’t be around for a week or so. We don’t want you to return home realizing that you were reported missing.”

Sehun raised his eyebrows, surprised at the suggestion. He hadn’t even thought about that. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to his mom, telling her that he had decided to take a last-minute trip and he wouldn’t be able to spend Christmas with them. She would be furious, that was for sure, but Sehun would deal with that later.

“Well, Sehun,” Yixing said, facing him after having pressed a button that apparently put the sleigh in autopilot. “You’ll have to believe now, because from this moment until Christmas ends, _you_ are the new Santa.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guys!!! How’s your holiday season going? (•ө•)♡
> 
> This time I’m bringing you something different—kinda. This wasn’t even planned. I was working on something else, but three days ago all those Christmas vibes hit me hard and this idea appeared. Then I couldn’t go back to work on my other stories bc I needed to write this thing and yeah, here we are. :))))
> 
> I had the intention of making it a one-shot, buuuuuut if you’ve read any other of my works, you’re probably aware that ‘write’ and ‘short’ definitely not belong together in a coherent sentence for me. This is how I ended up with a long-ass fic and now I had to cut it into chapters. Yay. ಠ_ಠ This isn’t even finished, actually, so now when I post the last chapter, Christmas will probably long be gone, and this story will lose all its seasonal intention. But whatever, I really hope you like it, anyway!
> 
> Well, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter!
> 
> Oh! And Merry Christmas!! ♥(:


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is:
> 
> **“Dinner”** by **SUHO x Jane Jang**
> 
> You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RNiHiH6jSCAtfZhRjQU1U) .  
> 
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

> **T W O**
> 
> _**CARTOONS AIN'T TRUSTWORTHY** _

 

 

Going on the sleigh at first had been as if he had gone on a plane. Sehun had thought that he would feel something different, but if he were to be honest, there wasn’t something amusing about it. The only interesting thing was the speed at which they were moving.

The speedometer in the screen in front of him had indicated that they were at 8,000 km/h. Moving like that, he would be able to go from Seoul to Sydney in just one hour or so. That was unbelievable! But it was even more that Sehun didn’t perceive it from his seat. The only evidence of it was the way everything looked out the window, as if they were inside a tunnel that blurred everything out.

To kill the time, he spent the trip answering Yixing’s questions about trivial things. Like what his favorite color or cookies were. Whether he liked cold, warm, or hot milk. If he was in favor of eating pizza with pineapple on top or not. If he preferred sweet or salty food; books or movies; coke or water; coffee or tea…

But by the time the blurry lights of the cities began to fade, the sleigh slowed to 80 km/h, giving way to a bright white surface. Yixing then remained silent, as if giving him a moment to appreciate his surroundings.

The North Pole, as he had seen in documentaries, was a huge white layer floating above the great Arctic Ocean. Winter was in its peak, leaving the area with a 24-hours night. Miles and miles of glaciers greeted him from below, and a beautiful emerald-green Northern Light made it from above. Sehun was amazed at the show. He had seen pictures of it before, but it couldn’t even compare to experiencing it.

He had hoped to see a small city or something similar once reaching the North Pole. He vaguely remembered Yixing saying in the elevator something about an _Elf Villa_. However, they had spent about 10 minutes completely engulfed in the dark. Not a single light that didn’t belong to the Northern Light could be seen.

Sehun finally got out of his stupor and turned to look at Yixing.

The elf was leaning back in his seat, looking over Sehun's shoulder, probably at the huge emerald-green spectacle next to them. He looked back at Sehun and smiled softly.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Sehun nodded, thinking that ‘beautiful’ wasn’t adequate enough to describe what he was witnessing.

“It looks even better when there’s more than one,” Yixing said, pointing outward with his head. “The sky then is completely painted in colors, and the lights are so bright that it doesn’t even look like it’s nighttime.”

Sehun contemplated the Northern Light again, and then his eyes fell to the white ground. There wasn’t a single trace of life. Where were all those creatures that were supposed to be living there?

“Do penguins hibernate or why haven’t I seen any yet?” Sehun absentmindedly asked.

The guffaw Yixing let out startled him, and the calm and quiet moment they were having vanished at the same speed of the sleigh. Sehun watched him laugh, with a pout and a frown on his face. What was so funny?

"I have no idea whether penguins hibernate," Yixing said once his laughter had died down, wiping the corner of his eyes. "But I do know that the only penguin in the North Pole is Kyungsoo when he wears his penguin onesie."

_What?_

“Penguins live in the South Pole, Sehun.” He sent him a huge smile and Sehun felt his face warm with embarrassment. “We have polar bears, though, and they are definitely hibernating.”

Sehun cleared his throat and looked out the window again, ignoring how Yixing’s smile was growing wider.

“I already knew that.”

Yixing chuckled, but decided to leave the teasing for another occasion—and Sehun silently thanked him for that.

He then let himself be hypnotized by the gentle dance the Northern Light was performing. He was lost in it until Yixing tapped him on the shoulder.

“Maybe you want to see this.” He smiled, pointing at the front.

As soon as Sehun’s eyes followed Yixing’s finger, he straightened in his seat and his jaw dropped.

Shiny dots appeared in front of them, and as the sleigh kept on moving, they transformed into the lights of a city in the middle of nowhere.

“Welcome officially to the North Pole, Sehun.”

Rows and rows of houses and buildings that looked like gingerbread cookies began to appear in his field of vision. They were adorned by the edges with what looked like white, green, and red icing, and they had Christmas decorations everywhere.

The streets were made of gray paving stones, with snow covering the corners here and there. A system of rails was neatly installed, crossing the village from one end to the other. Sehun couldn’t make out the train that was driving around, but in the distance he could hear the characteristic sound of its whistle.

Still staring down, he saw people—elves—strolling along them. He then realized that he had been lied to. Elves were nothing like those cartoons he had always seen as the representation of an elf. He should’ve assumed that ever since he had laid his eyes on Yixing for the first time. To begin with, they weren’t short. They all had different heights and builds. Their clothes were similar to those of Yixing, so they weren’t using ugly stockings or pointy hats and shoes. Their ears were a little bit pointy, but over all they looked like any other person. Cartoons were all a lie.

He noticed that the streets were all connected to a central point, in what looked like a huge plaza. In the middle of it, a white Christmas tree, bigger than what he had ever seen before, shone in all its splendor. It was full of lights, garland strands and ornaments, and a gigantic star was perfectly placed at the tip.

Beyond the tree, a huge gingerbread building was waiting for them in the distance. It could be seen that it was alive, with the chimneys on its roof continuously sprouting steam, and the light coming out through the huge glass windows at the front.

“That’s Santa’s toy factory,” Yixing said.

They flew next to the Christmas tree and Sehun was sure that his jaw would detach from his face any time soon. Close up, it was even more impressive. The garlands looked like a thin golden mesh, with glittery decorations along it. The ornaments had all different designs; some were shiny, others matt or with glitter. Then he noticed that the tree wasn’t white, but green; its branches had accumulated snow among them.

“How long does it take to decorate it?” Sehun suddenly asked.

It surely took them forever to do it.

He, however, didn’t receive an answer, so he looked back at Yixing. The always happy expression on him had changed to a serious, almost worried one, and that made Sehun frown.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uhm…” The elf scratched the back of his neck and sent him what was probably meant to be a smile. “Not that I want to scare you, but… I think you should settle back in your seat and hold on to something. My attempts to land a sleigh aren’t always successful.”

Sehun’s frown disappeared and his eyebrows rose to his hairline. His brain began to figure out the probability for them to come out alive from this. He just had to know the amount of times the elf had tried to do it and how many of those had ended in a disaster. If, in average, 3 out of 5 had been successful, then there was nothing to worry about.

“How many times have you tried?”

“In addition to this one?” Yixing asked, staring at the steering wheel in front of him. “Just once.”

Sehun’s eyes widened, and he immediately stared at the front, putting his hands under the seat and holding as tight as he could.

So 1 out of 1 attempts had gone wrong. Yixing basically was inexperienced in driving sleighs.

_Why the hell was he driving one, then?!_

On a brighter note, at least Sehun could boast in his next life that he had died knowing the existence of the Elf Villa. How many people were lucky enough to do it? As far as he knew, he would be the first one.

He hadn’t noticed, but the sleigh had slowed down considerably. Taking a look at the speedometer, it indicated that they were now moving at 20 km/h. His eyes darted to the screen in the middle of the board. There was no longer a map, but a chronometer and a distance indicator— _‘Remaining distance: 547m.’; ‘Estimated time of arrival: 1min 38sec.’,_ and decreasing.

“Can’t the autopilot make us land?”

Yixing shook his head. “It’s only manual, but that’s an excellent idea.” He got his hand close to the steering wheel, but withdrew it before he could even touch it. Glancing at the board in front of Sehun, he took a deep breath, and said, “Sit up straight and then please press that green button there.”

_‘Remaining distance: 451m.’; ‘Estimated time of arrival: 1min 21sec.’_

The sleigh kept on moving forward. They still had enough time to direct it to a safe zone, but if Yixing kept staring at the screen, they would end up crashing in one of the factory’s windows.

That would definitely be a triumphal entry.

Sehun simply obeyed and as soon as he had his back to the seat, he pressed the green button. A click reached his ears and three gray and thick strips surrounded his body. One of them adjusted him by the waist, while the other two went from between his legs to his shoulders—that was the most sophisticated seatbelt ever.

Yixing was also secured and had finally decided to press his hand to the screen.

_‘Remaining distance: 364m.’; ‘Estimated time of arrival: 1min 05sec.’_

The autopilot came to a stop once Yixing touched the steering wheel, causing the sleigh to destabilize its direction. It turned to the right, but Yixing quickly directed them to the left. The maneuver, however, didn’t make them return to their original path. Yixing began to move his hand, turning left and right incessantly, meandering in the air.

The movement made Sehun dizzy. Yixing’s driving skills were awful. Could that even be considered driving? Because they were in the air and people didn’t drive, but fly aerial vehicles. He could say that this sleigh was aerial, right? Either way, Yixing did it horribly. If he had time left after Christmas, once back in Seoul he would definitely teach the elf how to drive. That would help him at least to control the steering wheel.

_‘Remaining distance: 213m.’; ‘Estimated time of arrival: 38sec.’_

The building grew closer.

Yixing was really going to crash them there.

Sehun had the intention to start praying when suddenly, Yixing pressed a button and the sleigh began to fly up. It was as if instead of wanting to land, Yixing wanted to make them take off.

_‘Remaining distance: 107m.’; ‘Estimated time of arrival: 19sec.’_

His body was completely attached to the seat, and in that moment, it was as if he were back in high school, listening to his physics teacher.

_"The Law of Conservation of Energy says that energy isn’t created or destroyed; it just transforms,”_ had the old Choi Siwon said. _“Let’s use roller coasters as an example. They work by transforming the gravitational energy into kinetic energy when they go up.”_

Sehun wanted to close his eyes, but he didn’t. If he was going to die, at least he had to enjoy the North Pole—or its sky—until the last second.

_‘Remaining distance: 62m.’; ‘Estimated time of arrival: 11sec.’_

Without a warning, Yixing pressed another button and they changed direction.

The scenery in front of them was no longer the sky, but the ground. The sleigh was now plummeting, accelerating so fast that Sehun was sure he could feel his stomach going straight to his throat.

_"Now, have you felt that sensation in the belly caused by the fall of the roller coasters?"_ Mr. Choi’s voice continued. _“Well, acceleration is to blame. That’s the constant speed increase suffered by the trolley in the fall thanks to the transf—”_

_Mr. Choi,_ Sehun thought, _please shut up._

_‘Remaining distance: 33m.’; ‘Estimated time of arrival: 06sec.’_

His stomach churned and his eyes closed on their own. He gritted his teeth and then could only ask for it not to be so painful.

Next to him, he could hear Yixing whimpering, as if he were making a great effort.

That was definitely their end.

All of a sudden, it felt as if they had driven over a street hump without reducing the speed. They shook violently and when it stopped, the only thing he heard was Yixing’s heavy breathing and his own heart beating in his ears.

“Did I kill you?”

Releasing the air he hadn’t noticed he had retained, Sehun opened his eyes. Everything was, apparently, in order. It didn’t look like the scene of a traffic accident. They had survived—and Sehun had just decided he didn’t like roller coasters anymore.

Facing Yixing, he found him with his palms pressed on the board and his eyes clenched.

_Wait_ …

“Please tell me you kept your eyes open all the time…”

Yixing slowly opened one eye, glancing at Sehun. Once he had confirmed that he was complete, he opened the other one.

“Maybe I closed them a little when we were going down,” he said, tracing a line with his finger on the board.

“What?!” Sehun gaped at him, with his eyes wide open. “Yixing, what the fuck?!”

“Don’t swear!” the elf exclaimed, frowning.

“Do not come at me with that!” Sehun pointed a finger at him. “We could’ve died!”

The elf’s mouth dropped and his eyebrows furrowed even more. “I panicked, alright?! Now press the green button again!”

Sehun did as he was told and the seatbelts disappeared.

“Besides,” Yixing added after pressing another button that turned off the sleigh, “We’re still here, so we’re good.”

The elf got out, leaving Sehun alone inside the flying machine. The latter followed him, and after walking a few steps away, he realized that the sleigh wasn’t invisible anymore. It was like a small round helicopter, without rotors and tail, in a very bright red color with golden decorations along its sides. It looked like a sphere with blades underneath, similar to those of ice skates.

“Hadn’t you said we were going on a sleigh?” Sehun asked, staring at the machine.

“We were,” Yixing absentmindedly said, carefully hidden behind the… _helicopter?_ And peeping at the back. “The only sleigh that looks like the one you’re imagining is Santa’s.”

Sehun then paid attention to his surroundings, finding out that they were standing in an open area that looked like a runway. They had landed behind the buildings where they were going to crash a few moments ago. There, a huge entrance was welcoming them to a warehouse that screamed ‘mechanical workshop’. Inside, as far as his eyes could reach, rows and rows of sleighs similar to the one they had used were safely stored.

“What’s this place?”

Yixing turned to look at him and put a finger to his mouth, asking him to be quiet. He then motioned for him to come closer, and once Sehun stood behind him, he said, “It’s the _Sleigh Innovation and Maintenance Workshop_. Or SIM Workshop for short.”

From his position, Sehun could take a better glance. Beyond the rows of sleighs, he saw huge machines that were surely used to check the errors in any of the vehicles. He had never been a fan of mechanical issues, but never had he seen anything like that. It was as if they had much more advanced technology than that of the ‘real word’, and that was amazing.

He was so focused on admiring the workshop that he didn’t notice when Yixing turned around to face him. He startled slightly when the elf’s breath hit his neck.

“Listen, we can’t afford to walk freely through the factory. Nobody knows that you’re here, so nobody can see you. Don’t get away from me and don’t get distracted. I promise that tomorrow you’ll begin to visit every single area, but now we must get you in without getting caught.

“We just need to get to the entrance of the workshop and run to the elevator. I don’t think that’s difficult, unless…” The elf frowned, deep in thought. “Do you know what time it is? I was in a rush when I left, so I forgot my phone.”

Yixing intently watched him, waiting for his answer.

Sehun, on the other hand, didn’t have time to be surprised by the fact that the guy had a phone. He had barely registered what he had said, to begin with. The elf’s closeness had baffled him. He just wasn’t used to having close contact with someone he barely knew. What impressed him even more, was that Yixing didn’t even seem bothered; as if he were used to invade people’s personal space.

“Could you please…” Sehun vaguely said, taking Yixing by the shoulders and pushing him gently away from him.

“Oh!” The elf immediately stepped back, giving Sehun more space. “Yeah! Uh… Yes. Sorry.”

The runway was illuminated enough for him to see that Yixing’s cheeks had blushed slightly. The corners of Sehun’s mouth quirked up but he didn’t say anything else.

Taking his phone out, he saw that the clock indicated that it was 11:27 a.m.

“Wait, but that’s Seoul time, isn’t it?” Yixing mumbled, staring at the screen. “I had forgotten it… Could you please look up what time it is according to the Greenwich Mean Time? You can connect your phone to the factory’s Wi-Fi network.”

Sehun’s eyebrows rose and then it finally clicked in his head that Yixing was talking about phones and internet, and _were they really in the North Pole?_ He didn’t muttered his questions out loud, though. He simply connected his phone to the open network that bore the name of ‘Santa’s Internet Connection’— _so original!_ —and looked for what Yixing had requested.

“It’s 2:27 a.m.” Sehun showed the screen to him.

“We arrived later than I had planned.” The elf shook his head in disbelief and sighed. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s go.“

They walked toward the huge entrance and hid behind the first sleigh they encountered.

“Right now,” Yixing said, “the only ones who are still working are those at the night shift of the Manufacturing, Wrapping, Logistics, and maybe the Mailing departments, so I think we can go in without someone seeing us.”

He made sure that there was no one and continued walking hurriedly.

Sehun followed him close behind, looking around as if he were in a museum.

The sleighs had a golden number next to the driver’s door, which surely served to identify them. He couldn’t estimate the amount of sleighs that were there, but they had just passed one with a ‘439’ neatly painted, so that gave him an idea of how many they actually were.

Once the rows of flying vehicles stayed behind, they stood in an area where Sehun could have a better look of the huge machines he had seen when he got out of the sleigh. They were distributed in separated areas that could be differentiated with a sign that hung from the ceiling above them. He could read ‘Paint’; ‘Dents’; ‘Replacement Parts’; ‘Engines’; ‘Brakes’… and the list extended even further.

The workshop was empty, so they reached the entrance a minute later successfully, without running into anyone. It was made of automatic glass doors, which opened when they stopped near them. Yixing put his head out, looking for traces of someone else, but the wide hall was alone.

They stepped into it then and Sehun stared in awe around the place. Just as the Elf Villa, the factory had walls and ceilings made of gingerbread cookie. In front of the workshop, on the other side of the hall, there was another glass door with a wooden sign above that said _‘Reindeer Breeding and Care Department’._ On the right side, about five meters away, there was another door. It didn’t have a sign, but Sehun could see that once you went through it, you would find machines that were currently working.

“Come on, Sehun! Don’t fall behind!”

Sehun looked at the front again, finding Yixing standing a few meters ahead.

“Sorry.” He jogged and stopped next to him. “It’s just… This is impressive.”

Yixing walked again, heading down the hall. There was a round elevator and next to it, spiral-shaped stairs.

“You have yet to see how it looks like once the factory comes back to full life,” the elf said, calling the elevator. “Now _that_ is impressive.”

The elevator didn’t take long to arrive, but at no time did Yixing stop looking back, seeming nervous.

“Why didn’t you tell someone that you were bringing a replacement for Santa?”

“Uhm…” The elevator doors then opened. They entered quickly and the elf pressed a button that had Santa’s face on it. “It’s complicated.”

“Will you tell me one day?” Sehun asked again, when they began to move.

“Maybe…”

A faint smile adorned Yixing’s face, and Sehun found himself smiling back.

The trip wasn’t long and once they stepped out, Sehun, again, stared at everything completely amazed.

Just as he had seen on the floor above, the place had a wide hall in the middle. To the left was a huge matt glass door, with golden decorations along it. Next to it, he found another door, which allowed him to catch a glimpse of what looked like a bed—that was probably a bedroom. To the right he found a kitchen, followed by a dining room, and beyond, a living room. There were no walls separating these three places, so he could perfectly see each one of them. Finally, down the hall, between the bedroom and the living room, he saw two doors. He assumed that one of them was the toilet. And yes, the walls and the ceiling were made of gingerbread cookie, as well.

“Here’s where you’re going to stay,” Yixing said, heading toward the matt glass door. “I know it’s not my home, but at this moment Mr. Claus isn’t in a position to refuse, so feel free to walk all over the place.”

“Santa lives here?!”

Yixing chuckled and opened the door for Sehun to get in.

“Did you imagine something different?” he asked, with a touch of amusement in his voice.

“Well…” Sehun walked in, discovering that they were in an office. “Cartoons have always showed something different, indeed. But I’ve realized that nothing here looks like that, so I wasn’t expecting anything.”

The office was wide. Nothing inside it was cramped, and there was enough space for many people to walk comfortably around. In a corner was a pretty, leafy Christmas tree, decorated similar to the one he had seen at the plaza. Next to it, a set of a couch and two armchairs was placed in front of a big fireplace.

Sehun saw in front of him a huge screen, which was placed behind an elegant wooden desk, with two chairs at the front and a large, equally elegant, chair behind it. Next to the screen, there was a shelf full of books and thick folders.

On the right side of the room, more shelves were arranged just as in libraries, one after another, but they were empty. The floor was carpeted, matching the color of the cookie on the walls—which, at the same time, was decorated with series of Christmas lights.

“Actually, Santa’s house does look similar to those cartoons you’re talking about.” Yixing was standing in front of the shelf with folders, staring at them. “He doesn’t really live under the factory. His house is located next to the train station. Maybe I could take you there before you go back home.” He began to take out several folders, placing them on the desk. “He only lives here once Christmas is near. This way, if something happens and his presence is required, it doesn’t take him long to get to the factory. We could say it’s a temporary home.”

Yixing turned to count the folders—they were 9—and then surrounded the desk. He sat at one of the chairs, and smiling, patted the other for Sehun to take it.

“I really would’ve liked to give you more time, but this can’t wait. I need to make sure you know who you’ll be interacting with before Junmyeon comes tomorrow morning.”

Wait, who was Junmyeon?

At that moment Yixing spread the folders all over the desk, distracting Sehun from asking out loud. They all had a label with something written on it, but he couldn’t read what they said.

“Let’s begin with… him.”

Yixing’s expression had become more serious. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and Sehun then knew that he was in a work mode. That was a big contrast to the talkative and stalker Yixing at the mall.

The elf took one folder and opened it, showing it to Sehun. The cover had a picture at the upper left corner, with text printed in what was left. Then Sehun realized that those folders were something similar to an employee’s file record.

“His name’s Jongin. He’s the Chief Manufacturing Elf and he’s in charge of the production, as well as the design of toys.

“What you need to know, and please remember it, is that he’s not a morning elf. He likes to sleep. A lot. So it generally takes an hour or so for him to be fully awake. Please be patient with him.”

Sehun saw a guy softly smiling at the camera. He had a pretty skin color and the shade of his hair reminded him of chocolate. His bangs were freely covering his forehead, giving him the look of someone kind.

“Now,” Yixing continued, taking another file, “he’s Chanyeol, the Chief Wrapping Elf. He’s one of the friendliest elves you’ll ever meet in your life. He was probably born smiling, so you’ll never see another expression on his face. I’m sure you’ll feel comfortable around him once you get to go to the Wrapping Department.”

Looking intently at the picture, Sehun found, indeed, a guy with a full smile on. Chanyeol’s smile was so big that it must hurt. His hair was brown hue similar to Jongin’s, but it was combed in such a way that his fringe fell on his forehead simulating a comma. He had a pair of ears a little bit bigger than the average, but still _elf-ish-like._ He definitely looked friendly; like someone who would help old women in the supermarket or feed stray dogs on a daily basis; all with a smile on his face just for the sake of making others happy.

Yixing then took the file of a guy that reminded Sehun of a little kitten. He had the most impressive eyes he had ever seen— _well_ … Yixing’s were a little bit more than those of that guy if you asked Sehun, but nobody had to know that.

“This guy here’s Minseok. He’s the Chief Training Elf and his job basically consists in preparing Santa for what he’s about to face on Christmas night.

“You must know that he loves coffee. You should definitely treat him a cup—“Yixing pursed his lips and then chuckled”—or maybe five, if you want him to have some mercy on you. Though I doubt you’ll succeed. He’s really kind and calm, but he’s professional, too, and he doesn’t let your relationship with him to get in his way when he’s working. He also hates lazy people, so be careful what you do within his territory. He might be cruel to you.”

Staring at Minseok, Sehun saw that he was smiling slightly, which made his cheeks look full. His hair was black and it was combed to the side, showing a little his forehead. He had two round piercings in both ears, but they didn’t make him look dangerous.

Yixing had to be exaggerating; that guy couldn’t be cruel.

“Let’s continue with… Luhan!”

Yixing showed him a guy with the most stylized hair so far. It was honey blond; combed to the side in a way that Sehun was sure had taken hours to get done. It was as if a permanent breeze was on him, ruffling it in the most perfect way possible. The two small rings he was wearing on his ears complemented the look. Also, his skin was pale and the small smile he was portraying made him look friendly.

“He’s the Chief Reindeer-Coach Elf. Do you remember the doors in front of the SIM Workshop? The ones with the ‘Reindeer Breeding and Care Department’ sign?”

Sehun nodded and Yixing smiled, looking proud of Sehun’s good-memory skills.

“Well, Luhan works there. He’s a really chill person. I mean, he trains reindeer, so he somehow has learned to be like that, but you’ll see that there’s no way for him to lose his cool. Unless you tell him that he looks as delicate as a flower. Please don’t do that. It would end up wrong.”

The elf scrunched up his nose, making Sehun laugh.

“Alright, the next one is Jongdae.”

The file had a picture of a guy with an interesting smile. It was curled up by the corners of his mouth, and it reached his eyes, almost making them disappear. His hair was black, combed sideways; forming an inverted ‘v’ on his forehead. And just like Minseok and Luhan, both ears had a small, shiny earring.

“He’s the Chief Sleigh-Mechanics Elf and he’s responsible for the SIM Workshop. What they do is check that everything works properly with the sleighs, as well as make improvements in them. They have enough technology to supply any idea, so all our sleighs are always in constant change.

“As for Jongdae, I would say that he’s gentle and friendly. And his laugh is contagious! You’ll always find yourself having a good time with him.”

Sehun wasn’t sure, but what Yixing was saying didn’t sound any different to what Jongdae's picture reflected. It would probably be interesting to talk with him.

“Now, this one over here’s the Chief Logistics Elf. His name is Baekhyun.”

Didn’t this Baekhyun look cheerful? He was probably the definition of the word along with Chanyeol. He was a brunet guy with his bangs falling on his forehead, almost covering his eyes. He was giving the camera the biggest smile he could probably offer, showing all his teeth. His picture gave in the idea of him being talkative, and over all, he looked as friendly as the other elves he had seen.

“He and his team are responsible for tracing the routes that Santa will take. They study the geographical and climatic conditions around the world, and recreate all the possible scenarios that the designed route might face, so they can come up with a plan of action to attack any problem. They’re also in charge of the classification of the gifts by geographical areas.”

At this point, Sehun’s brain was going to explode. Never had he in his life considered that all those things mentioned were necessary for the distribution of the gifts during Christmas. Alas, he didn’t even believe in Santa three hours ago, but he was sure that nobody had ever stopped to think that there was a whole process behind it all.

“What’s with your face?” Yixing was looking at him weirdly, though still smiling wide. However, his eyebrows furrowed almost momentarily, to then give way to a pair of widened eyes. “Holy nutcracker! Am I explaining too fast?! Am I speaking too much? I am, aren’t I? I’m so sorry, I just— do you have any doubts so far?! Do you want me to talk about someone in particular again?!”

Sehun’s astonishment vanished as soon as Yixing asked. He snorted, wanting to contain his laughter.

_Holy nutcracker?_ What was that expression?! Was it a suitable version for all audiences of the classic ‘holy shit’ or what?

He cleared his throat, biting his lip to keep his smile at bay. His reaction had made Yixing stare at him with a small pout and he didn’t want him to think he was making fun of him—which he actually was, but still. Laughing at the elf’s, let’s say, cute phrase was rude on his part.

“Don’t worry, it’s all good. You can continue.”

He sent Yixing a smile, finding somewhere within him the self-control against his laughter.

Yixing looked away reluctantly, but nodded, anyway.

“Okay, then… Where was I?”

“Baekhyun,” Sehun said, pointing at the file on Yixing’s hands.

“Ah! Yeah… Well, as I was saying, he’s in the Logistics Department. You’ll probably be working with him at the end of the week, but there’s not much to worry about. He’s literally the most easy-going elf ever. He’s joyful and hilarious, and most of the time you’re going to see him smiling or playing around.

“Along with Jongdae and Chanyeol, they do quite an interesting trio. They’re like dynamite once they’re together. I’m sure you’ll like them.”

Sehun contemplated Baekhyun’s picture one last time and he didn’t doubt Yixing’s words. Those three did have the face of being ready to drive everything on their way crazy, and enjoy every single second of it.

The next file showed him an elf with a soft smile. His hair was dark brown and it was perfectly combed to the side, giving him a professional image. He was wearing a pair of glasses that made his already big eyes more expressive.

“Now, here we have our Chief Behavior-Supervisor Elf, Kyungsoo.”

“Oh!” That name was familiar, Sehun noticed. That excited him. He wasn’t that lost after all. “The one with the penguin onesie!”

His reaction made Yixing laugh, making him feel embarrassed.

“What?” he asked, hoping there was no blush on his face.

“No, nothing. It’s just…” Yixing shook his head and placed his arm on the desk, resting his chin on his hand. “I would strongly suggest you not to mention the onesie thing out loud. Kyungsoo’s a fluff ball, trust me, but he can be a little bit… rude, if you make him mad. And his onesie isn’t something he wants everyone to know about, so…”

Sehun nodded, making sure not to forget it.

“But speaking of his job, he works at the _Behavior Quality Control Department_. Their main task is to supervise the behavior of children during the year. They get what we call the _Behavioral_ _Statistical Index_ of each kid, which is measured on a scale of 1 to 10. If the child ranks above 5, he goes to the ‘Nice List’. If he gets less than 5, his name’s placed on the ‘Naughty List’.”

“What if the kid ranks with a 5?” Sehun asked, really interested.

“They get a package of gingerbread cookies. It’s a neutral gift. It’s not what they wanted, but it’s not a coal either.”

“Do you have a Gingerbread Cookies Department?” Sehun joked, but Yixing didn’t laugh.

“Actually, we do. That’s where I work at.”

Suddenly Yixing lost all his bubbliness and Sehun felt a pang in his chest. He was sure that his question had caused the elf’s mood to darken and he didn’t like that.

“We also have a Coal Department,” Yixing added, shrugging a little. “But you won’t go to any of those, so they’re not relevant.”

The elf smiled again, but there was something in his eyes that Sehun couldn’t identify.

“Anyway, this one here,” Yixing said, taking one of the remaining files, “is Junmyeon. He’s the Chief Mailing Elf. What he and his team do is collect and sort all the letters for Santa. I guess you’ve seen those mailboxes around the city, where kids go and put their letters for Santa.”

Yes, Sehun definitely had.

As a child, he had always enjoyed dragging his brother to the one near their house. It was exciting to wait for Santa to receive his letter, and even more to wake up on Christmas morning, hoping he had behaved well enough to receive what he had asked for.

“Yeah, what about those?”

“The Mailing Department distributes them all over the world. They go and pick up the letters, and then they classify them and bring them here—”he signaled the office with his hand”—so Santa could read them. The sleighs we saw at the workshop are for Junmyeon’s team. That’s why there are a lot.”

Sehun wowed and Yixing chuckled, placing Junmyeon’s file on the desk again.

“I know I’m throwing a lot of information at you, but I think you’ll have no problem. In fact, Junmyeon will make everything easier for you. You’ll never find anyone as patient as him, so if you have any doubts, just ask him. He’ll make sure to explain you anything as many times as necessary.

“He’s also fun.” Yixing squinted and immediately took his words back. “Or not. Not really. His jokes are lame, but they’re so bad that you end up laughing, anyway.”

“How bad are they?”

Yixing grimaced, taking the last folder.

“We could say that he wouldn’t survive if he were a comedian.”

Sehun laughed, throwing his head back. “I’ll make sure not to laugh so as not to feed his hopes, then.”

Yixing snorted but controlled his laughter pretty well. He composed himself again, and trying to hide his smile, said, “Let’s leave poor Junmyeon alone and continue with our main task.”

“Okay…”

Sehun beamed at him and Yixing shook his head.

“There’s only one person left. You won’t meet him, actually, but you still need to know who he is.” Yixing opened the folder, and looking at Sehun with a stern expression on his face, said, “Sehun, this is Yifan. You must know that he’s the boss here and also the reason why you’re here.”

_Whoa! Whoa! What?!_

For a moment he stared at the picture, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

There was a brunet guy, with his hair falling to the side of his forehead in a careless way. He was smirking and the two diamonds on his ears were shining thanks to, he assumed, the flash of the camera when the photo was taken. There was no beard; no full and rosy cheeks; no gray hair, or wrinkles, or a trace of old age. The picture in front of him was that of a guy that could perfectly be his older brother and not the man that all children loved to wait on Christmas Eve.

“That’s Santa?!” he exclaimed, not believing his eyes. Yixing enthusiastically nodded and Sehun felt his brain making short-circuit. “Are you kidding me?!”

“No, why would I?” Yixing frowned, looking offended yet again.

“But he doesn’t look like Santa!”

Yixing raised one eyebrow and after looking intently at him, suddenly burst into laughter.

“You didn’t believe Santa was an old man, did you?”

The lack of response gave Yixing his answer, causing him to laugh harder.

“I thought we had made clear that cartoons were all a lie!” He covered his mouth with one hand and then the one frowning was Sehun. “This is so funny,” he said, placing a hand on his knee. “Look, this job requires a lot of physical effort. Although it’s a fact that there are many older men with impeccable physical condition, once we begin to age, we can’t work as efficiently as we did when we were young. And it’s not me but science who says so.

“Our previous Santa worked for over 30 years. He’s just 55 years old. Not old at all, right? But four years ago he decided that it was already the time for him to step back. That’s why he gave in the job to his son, and now he’s Santa.”

Yixing pointed at Yifan’s picture with the last sentence and Sehun stared at him, feeling like a fool.

He was sure that the face he had put on was ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. What did Yixing mean? Was the job interchangeable, then? How come Santa even had children?!

“I’m confused,” Sehun mumbled, looking how Yixing closed the folder.

Yixing knowingly smiled at him, and putting a hand on Sehun’s shoulder, said, “I know this is a lot of information to process, but I promise that little by little I’ll explain you everything.”

He gave his shoulder a soft squeeze and then stood up, surrounding the desk.

Sehun followed his movements, still thinking about everything, when another doubt arose within him.

Had Yixing introduced to him the whole team? Wasn’t he omitting someone? He now knew that cartoons lied, but there could be no way for Santa not to have a right-hand person.

“Don’t you have Head Elf?”

Yixing was placing the folders back on their place but after Sehun’s question, his arm remained static in the air. It had taken him by surprise, that was for sure, but he immediately recovered. After he arranged the folders, he faced Sehun and smiled slightly at him.

“At the moment we don’t have one, but Junmyeon’s covering that position until they find someone.”

“What happened to the other one?”

“He…” Yixing pursed his lips, deep in thought, as he put his hands on his pockets. “I guess that… he wasn’t suitable for the job anymore, so he had to leave it for someone else to take it.”

Oh…

Sehun nodded, feeling Yixing’s uncomfortable vibes flooding the office. He didn’t know why, but he decided not to ask any further. Silence fell over them and he himself was beginning to feel uncomfortable as well, when Yixing spoke again.

“Well, I think that’s everything until now. Junmyeon will come around 10:30, so I’ll get going. You need to sleep.” Yixing jerked his head toward the door. “Come.”

Once out of the office, Yixing walked to the kitchen. He took something from the counter and said, “Remember me not to leave this thing everywhere.”

He shook a phone in front of his face and Sehun raised his eyebrows, recalling that the elf had mentioned something about leaving his phone. Yixing began to walk toward the elevator and Sehun moved to walk next to him.

“Do you have any questions about the team? Ask now before it’s too late.”

Sehun pondered his answer for a moment, and replied, “About the team, no. About _your_ world, yes. A lot.”

This made Yixing laugh again and Sehun felt the weird vibes dissipating in the air.

“I’ll answer those questions later. For now, try to sleep. I’ll come to see you in the morning to prepare you before Junmyeon arrives.”

They stopped in front of the elevator and Yixing called it.

“I…” the elf said, ducking his head a little and playing with his foot on the ground. “I know I was annoying at the mall, but… thanks for having agreed to help me. I really owe you one.”

Yixing faced him again and sent him a smile; one of those that had made Sehun feel at peace back at the parking lot. He just then remembered the little pearl that he had in his pocket, and he didn’t hesitate to smile back.

"It's nothing…"

That was the only thing Sehun could say when the sound of the elevator interrupted them.

Yixing got in and waved his hand as a gesture of farewell. The doors were closing when out of nowhere, the elf put his hands between them.

“Wait! Wait!”

Sehun startled and immediately glared at the elf. What was wrong with him?!

“What the fuck, Yixing?!”

“Do not swear!”

Sehun rolled his eyes and then the doors began to close again. Yixing squished himself between them, ending with his limbs completely contorted. This made Sehun laugh.

“Do not laugh, either!” Yixing frowned, pushing the doors with his arms so they could open a little bit. “Listen, Yifan’s cupboards are full of food. Whatever you imagine, there you have it. You’re probably hungry, so you can eat before going to sleep or at any other time. That food is for you.”

Still smiling, Sehun nodded. “I’ll eat something, but now go. This replacement will try to sleep.”

Yixing faked a smile and stepped back. The doors immediately closed, not giving them any chance to say something else, and just like that, the elf was gone.

It was then that, as the silence began to envelop him, and the gingerbread walls became more real than ever, Sehun also began to wonder what was wrong with himself. Because recapitulating everything that had happened, in a span of three hours he had discovered that magic did exist; that Santa Claus was real; that elves weren’t short, and there was one in particular who had one of the most beautiful smiles that had ever existed, but was also very stubborn and a little bit of a stalker; and, above all, that he was about to replace a guy on whom the happiness of the world population of children at Christmas depended completely.

Considering all his options, he concluded that it couldn’t be that hard.

He would just learn as much as he could from all those elves Yixing had introduced to him, and in less than a week, he would be back in Seoul, trying to get Zitao’s love.

He could do it.

And he would do it.

But seriously, Sehun… What were you even thinking?

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY THERE, EVERYONE! How’s everything going? How were your Holidays?
> 
> Mine were kinda… cool? I went on a trip with my family and it was pretty amazing, but I didn’t have internet connection there and I didn’t have enough data on my phone either. Then maybe I procrastinated a little, tiny bit and… yep. That’s why I hadn’t updated this sooner. But here’s the second chapter! :D
> 
> I know I’m late for this, but Happy New Year! Hope 2019 is full of lots of love, health, and happiness for you and your beloved ones. Let’s make this year a better one! ♥
> 
> Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter! :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is:
> 
> **“불공평해 Unfair”** by **EXO**
> 
> You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RNiHiH6jSCAtfZhRjQU1U) .  
> 
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

> **T H R E E**
> 
> _**D-5 UNTIL CHRISTMAS** _

 

 

He had tried to sleep. He really, really had. But for goodness’ sake! According to his phone, it had been almost 1 in the afternoon when Sehun had gone to bed. There was no way he was sleepy—jet lag was a bitch, he had concluded.

Feeling like an intruder hadn't helped either. He realized that he was about to sleep in a stranger’s bed without said stranger knowing. He had ended up lying there, anyway, but after rolling in the bed for an hour or so, sleepiness hadn’t come. What had come instead was hunger, so he got up and went to the kitchen. A few minutes later and sandwich in hand, he was snooping around the place.

This type of apartment wasn’t very different from what his apartment—or any other apartment—was. It had everything to survive; maybe even more; and the furniture seemed no less elegant than that at the office. It made Sehun think that once he was old enough to retire, he would like to have a place like this.

He didn’t find anything that would completely call his attention until he saw the huge TV working as a wall in the living room. After having devoured two sandwiches, he decided that there was no point in going back to the bedroom, so he sat in front of the TV. It surprised him to see a menu of all countries arranged alphabetically when he turned it on. He selected Argentina just to see what would happen, and it directed him to a list with all the Argentinian TV channels. He then searched South Korea and went through the different channels, watching one program after another—and that was more or less what he had been doing for maybe five hours.

Well… _That_ and thinking about how messed up everything was.

An hour ago his mom had called. She rambled for more than thirty minutes about how wrong it had been to leave them just like that; and even more so when Christmas was a few days away. After she had let it all out, she asked him where he was going and who he had traveled with.

Sehun wouldn’t say he was a professional of the lie, but by then he had already created a story, and he felt somewhat proud of it. He only hoped that his mom would believe it complete—and apparently she did. Now she knew that Johnny, his best friend, had found an incredible 2x1 offer on tickets to England. The poor man had no girlfriend, and he hadn’t gone with his family to Hawaii; that’s why he had asked Sehun to join him. And as the best friend he was, of course he had agreed. The plan was to stay until Christmas. Then he would return to Seoul, and Johnny would fly to Hawaii. That way everyone would celebrate New Year with their family.

His mom had scolded him again; yet she still told him to have fun and not to get in trouble. Sehun had expected to hear something like that, and he felt guilty for lying to them. But it wasn’t as though he had another choice. How was he supposed to explain what he was involved in? Nobody would ever believe him!

What gave him some comfort was that he hadn’t lied about Hawaii… _Kinda_. Johnny and his family were in Hawaii, indeed, and they wouldn’t return until the first week of January. The thing here was that now he also had to find a way to explain to Johnny why he would have to pretend they had gone to England for Christmas. His friend would never help him unless Sehun told him the reason, and Sehun’s creative mind could only plan one master lie a year. There was no other way but to tell him the truth. But for that, he would have to show him that _that_ was the truth, and there lay another problem. What could he show him?

Maybe he could ask Yixing… He had got him into this, and since he couldn’t help him with Zitao, at least he would have to help him with Johnny. Sehun, however, knew it wouldn’t be easy. He was certain that Yixing would never accept, for him to have been bewildered every time Sehun had either lied or hinted that the elf had lied.

He turned the TV off, feeling a headache rising powerful. He wasn’t prepared for this.

Suddenly, the elevator doors came back to life, startling him. His eyes found Yixing jogging down the hall and into the bedroom; with a bag and some papers in his hands, and a small backpack on his back. Sehun frowned when a sharp gasp reached his ears. He then heard Yixing scouring the bedroom, muttering something like, _‘No, no, no’._ A few seconds later, he appeared in his field of vision again, with utter disbelief reflected in his face.

“He had promised he wouldn’t escape…” Yixing mumbled. “Once a liar, always a liar!” He threw rather harshly the papers he had brought with him, and stared at them scattering around.

Sehun’s frown deepened.

He felt insulted. He wasn’t a liar! Not a full-time one, at least…

“Why don’t you look over here, _pointy ears?”_

His voice made Yixing jump, reminding Sehun of those cats afraid of cucumbers he had seen going viral.

Yixing stared at him for a moment, and when his brain registered that Sehun was still there, he offered a sheepish smile.

“I… I hadn’t seen you.” Sehun narrowed his eyes and Yixing cleared his throat. “Did you… sleep… well?”

Sighing, Sehun shook his head. “Apparently my body thinks I’m still in Seoul.” He pointed to all the papers on the floor. “What are those?”

“Oh!” Yixing bent down and gathered them again. “I spent the night tracing a map for you. I don’t want you to get lost and—”

“Why would I?” Sehun straightened in the couch, frowning again. “Aren’t you going to be with me?”

Yixing was standing again, with all the papers back in his hands. “I wish I could, but I have to work.”

Alright, Sehun hadn’t seen that one coming.

“But I can’t do this alone! You _can’t_ leave me alone!”

There was no way on Earth he could make it without Yixing. What if he forgot something? Or if they asked him something he didn’t know? What if he did or said something Yifan would never? They would discover him! They would exile him somewhere in the North Pole to freeze to death. His family would find out that he hadn’t gone to England and they would be disappointed because he had lied. Johnny would hate him for including him in his lie. And then nothing would’ve been worth it because he wouldn’t give Zitao the pearl and— _oh, God! Zitao!_ He would never tell him that he loved him and he—

A violent shake of his head made him come back to his senses. It came as a complete surprise to him, as if something had…

_“Did you just hit me?!”_

Yixing was in front of him, holding a cushion. When had he come so close?

“You were hyperventilating and I panicked!”

Sehun’s eyebrows snapped together faster than ever. “You panic very often, don’t you think?”

Yixing threw the cushion back to the couch and crossed his arms, seeming offended. “I’m not the one who was hyperventilating a moment ago.”

“No. _You_ are the one who almost killed us trying to land a sleigh with his eyes closed _and_ the one who hit me, because you panicked!” Sehun stood up, not minding that he was standing close to Yixing, and crossed his arms as well. ”And it all happened in a span of six or seven hours!”

Yixing stared at him, still frowning, but didn’t say anything. After a moment of silence, his face softened and he dropped his arms to his sides.

“Maybe I really don’t know how to handle stress. I’ve been told very often,” he said, trying to unwrinkle the papers on his hands.

Sehun dropped his arms as well. He was about to ask who had told him so when Yixing beat him to speak.

“Did I hurt you?”

The look that he offered was full of concern and regret. It reminded Sehun of all those looks his brother or Johnny had given him when they were children and had accidentally hit him while they played. He couldn’t help but smile; though he didn’t know whether it was because of the memory or the goodness radiating from Yixing.

“No,” Sehun said. “But you’re dangerous to the world.”

Yixing smiled; his gaze fixed on the floor. “I’ve been told that, too.”

They stood there, each in his own thoughts, until Sehun realized that they were still standing very close. One more step and he would crash with Yixing, so he tried to, discreetly, back off. However, Yixing noticed, so he increased the distance between them by heading to the dining room.

“I came because I need to tell you some stuff before I go to work,” Yixing said, placing his backpack on the table.

Sehun quirked his eyebrow and walked to the table.

“The factory starts operating at 10. Santa’s check-in is at 11. Junmyeon comes at 10:30 to explain the schedule for the day, which is in—“he fished his phone out of his pocket”—48 minutes. Now, we obviously can’t let you walk around showing your face.”

“What’s wrong with it?!” Sehun frowned, feeling offended yet again. “How rude.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Yixing chuckled. “Your face actually looks really goo—“ He cut his sentence; his cheeks turning slightly red. Sehun’s eyebrows rose and Yixing pretended nothing was weird. “What I’m saying is that you don’t look like Yifan, so we’ll have to do something about it.”

Sehun frowned again.

“I searched on the Internet and found a way to use magic to change your appearance.”

“I still can’t believe you know Internet exists,” Sehun mumbled, out of topic.

Yixing sent him an _are-you-being-serious_ look.

“We’re living in the North Pole at the 21st Century, Sehun. We’re not Neanderthals.”

_Touché…_

“But stop interrupting. I don’t have much time.” Sehun nodded and Yixing continued. “If the article didn’t lie _, and I hope it didn’t_ , everyone will see you as if you were Yifan. The only problem’s that it only lasts 12 hours. I’ll have to do the trick every day.”

Sehun raised his eyebrows, skeptical. “Is it safe?”

“I’ve no idea.”

Sehun gaped at him. He was about to refuse when Yixing moved his hands and did the magic. The trail of glittery light surrounded Sehun for a few seconds. He just stood there, not knowing what to do. But when the trail disappeared, and Yixing frowned, he felt confused.

“Are you done? Do I look Yifan-ish?”

“I…” Yixing stared at him, dumbfounded. “You look the same.” He sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head. “What a scam.”

“Now what?”

“There’s a plan B.” Yixing opened his backpack and took out a— _was that a fake beard?_ “Yifan lets his beard grow one month prior to Christmas. You’re not even close to that, so we’ll give you one.”

Yes, it was a fake beard.

Sehun wasn’t a man of beards.

“We’re not giving anyone a beard,” he said, shaking his head.

“Yes, we are.”

Yixing handed him the garment, and Sehun took it, scrunching his nose up.

“This won’t work.”

“Let’s hope it will because we have no other option.” The elf placed the wrinkled papers on the table and put on his backpack again. “Here’s the map. You can check it out later. Go take a shower, eat something and wait for Junmyeon to come. You have about 40 minutes.”

“No, but wait!” Sehun exclaimed. “I can’t do this. I—“

“You’ll do fine, okay?” Yixing placed his hands on Sehun’s shoulders and absentmindedly caressed him with his thumbs. “Everything will be alright.”

He finally beamed at him and _there it was._ That peaceful smile Sehun had met a few hours ago. Just as he felt the calmness flooding his being, Yixing withdrew his hands.

“I’ll be late if don’t go, but I’m sure you’ll be okay,” Yixing said, turning around. “Please use that beard. Maybe we’re lucky and nobody will notice.”

“Hey, wait! I…”

The elf stopped and faced Sehun again.

“I don’t have clothes to wear.”

“Right! Just wear Yifan’s. He doesn’t have a uniform, so take whatever you want. Except his… Uh…” Yixing looked away, seeming uncomfortable. “There’s… There’s underwear in the bag that’s on the bed, as well as a toothbrush. They’re new. I thought that maybe you would need them and I couldn’t make you wear or use Yifan’s. That would be horrible, and disgusting, and very unhygienic, and I’m already late, so have a good day, alright? Bye!”

Yixing fled using the stairs, not wasting time on calling the elevator.

Sehun made his way to the bedroom, and although he was nervous as hell, he couldn’t help but laugh softly.

When Yixing wasn’t attacking him, he was cute.

 

 

The clock struck 10:30 and Sehun was sitting in the office; bathed, eaten, and with the beard on his face.

He looked ridiculous.

Not only was he using that stupid beard, but had only found horrible clothes inside Yifan’s closet. He was wearing a white shirt and a Christmas sweater with a huge wreath in the front. He might as well climb the tree at the plaza and work as an ornament. He almost removed the beard when the sound of the elevator made him freeze. He considered hiding under the desk, but before he could move, someone came in.

“Good morning, Santa! How did you—“ Junmyeon stopped abruptly, staring oddly at him. “What’s that on your face?”

Sehun didn’t speak.

Junmyeon shrugged and looked down at his tablet.

“Okay, so, today’s the first of the best five days of the year. Are you excited?”

 _Excuse me, elf Junmyeon,_ Sehun thought. _Didn’t you notice?_

At the lack of reply, Junmyeon stared at him again. “Are you alright?”

Sehun breathed in, and not thinking much about it, nodded. He would just go with the flow.

“If you say so…” Junmyeon tore his eyes away from him and proceeded to scroll through his tablet. “Anyway, since Christmas is just five days away, you know you have to check on each department to see how things are going. Today you’ll start with Jongin. Lunch is at 2. Then you have to be at the RBCD with Luhan at 4. From 6 to 8 with Minseok, and after that you’ll read letters. I’ll send you the schedule, but we’re using the one Yixing did.

“And speaking of, the Gingerbread Cookies Department informed me that yesterday you requested a wall repair. They’re asking if there’s something else they have to do here, so send them an email if there is.

“The Cafeteria Team sent me their Christmas-dinner options. Since you didn’t want turkey this year, they want to know whether you prefer _Garlic Butter Herb Prime Rib_ or _Apricot-Stuffed Pork Loin_. And also if you want roasted potatoes or carrots. Choose preferably before Saturday.

“What else…? Oh! The Coal Department will start the extraction in the northern area today. Apparently this year they needed more coal than usual, but Kyungsoo will give you more details on Friday.

“Any questions?”

Junmyeon stared intently at him when he finished _rapping_.

Sehun couldn’t help but to stare back.

What had that been?! He was a person, not a robot. Never in his life would he remember all those things!

“Are you sure you’re alright, Yifan?” Junmyeon asked.

_Wait, Yifan?_

Junmyeon’s concerned look made something inside Sehun’s head react.

_Could it be…?_

“Do I look the same as always?” Sehun asked.

The elf frowned, and after a long stare, he said, “You didn’t sleep, did you? You always say weird things whenever you don’t.”

Sehun wanted to scream, but he contained himself. He couldn’t celebrate yet.

“You’re unbelievable.” Junmyeon shook his head. “I’ll leave you now, but let me know if you need something.” He turned to leave the office, not before adding, “And please take off that thing in your face. You look ridiculous.”

 _No need to tell me,_ Sehun thought, throwing the beard away.

 

 

Ever since Sehun stepped out of the elevator, he ran into elves everywhere. The empty place he had seen the night before was gone. Although he was impressed with the whole scene, nothing could compare to the way nobody realized he wasn’t Yifan.

He was greeted with, _‘Hello, Santa!’_ here, and, _‘Good morning, Santa!’_ there. He had left the office suspicious of what was to be found, but a few seconds walking down the hall confirmed that whatever Yixing had done, had worked.

He discovered that the sign-less door he had seen last night after coming out of the SIM Workshop, directed to both the Manufacturing and Wrapping departments. The place was enormous, he noted after walking in. It was probably just as big as the _Gocheok Sky Dome_ , maybe even more. There was nothing separating the two departments, but there were two arrows hanging on the ceiling with each department’s name. Sehun followed the one that pointed to the right.

The Manufacturing Department had three main areas— _‘Boys’, ‘Girls’,_ and _‘Babies’_. Each one was divided into different stations, according to the type of toy that was produced. Sehun had expected to find some kind of mass production of toys performed by machines. Yet the production lines were commanded by elves who assembled each toy with their own hands.

He stared in awe at how one elf was sewing a teddy bear until he heard something about glitter and fabric that called his attention. He turned to an area with several rolls of shiny purple fabric, finding Jongin examining one of them.

“I think these here will be enough for the remaining dresses,” Jongin said. “But if not, just use another color. There’s blue and pink fabric in the warehouse.”

The elves that were there nodded and proceeded to work.

Jongin turned and smiled when he noticed that Sehun was there.

“Apparently purple and shiny doll dresses became fashionable this year,” he explained, once near. “How’re you doing today, Santa? Excited for Christmas?”

“Uhm… Yeah.” Sehun scolded himself. He had to come up with better replies. He remembered Junmyeon’s words, and added, "Today’s the first of the best five days of the year, after all.”

“That sounds like something Junmyeon would say.” Jongin laughed, interrupting a yawn. “But I agree.”

_Alright, Sehun. Let’s try again._

“Did you work late last night? I can see you’re all pretty busy here. How’s everything going?”

_That was better._

“Yeah, we’ve been working all three shifts since Monday.” Jongin jerked his head, indicating Sehun to follow him. “I’ve hardly slept and I get up earlier than usual. This is like torture. But the production’s going smoothly, as always. The only toys left to be assembled are those of the letters you have yet to read. If everything goes as planned, we’ll be done on Saturday night; Sunday morning, at the latest.”

“How many toys have you produced?”

“As of Wednesday December 19th, a little bit over 400 million.”

Sehun’s eyebrows rose to the sky. Those were a lot of toys! How did they even manage to produce that much using only their hands?!

“But you’ve seen behavior patterns,” Jongin continued. “The statistical data was drastically altered. We had predicted a decrease in production for this year, remember? We’re now estimating a total of 450 million toys at most.”

“Is that bad?” Sehun asked, eyeing at the station they were passing by. They were building a doll’s house.

“ _Bad?!_ ” Jongin looked at him, wide-eyed. “Yifan, it’s awful! Production at this time last year was around 600 million, and we closed the season with a total of 638 million of toys.”

Well, that changed everything.

Jongin shook his head. “Also, considering this year’s numbers, the department’s working with an 84% of efficiency.”

Was that bad, too? Sehun wasn’t an expert, but it couldn’t be bad. 84 was near 100.

“I mean, it’s good, but… it’s 11% less than last year,” Jongin dejectedly said, making Sehun feel bad for guessing everything wrong. “We’ve had some problems with gifts that involve either gadgets or toys that require batteries. Children nowadays are no longer happy with _technology-less_ gifts.”

They stopped walking at the entrance to a room that had the name of ‘Design and Innovation’. Jongin handed him a pair of safety glasses and a helmet, and walked inside. Sehun followed him, looking how everything gave away the impression of being a lab. The elves were wearing the security elements, as well as white and red robes, making them look like candy canes.

“This is the project I mentioned the other day,” Jongin said. “We’re developing a new range of remote-control toys. Up till now, we’ve only designed cars and spaceships, but we’re testing flying ponies.”

Sehun noticed that there was a race track all around the lab. Just then, six elves were lined up with remote controls in hand, ready to start a race— _“For mere trial purposes,”_ had they stated.

Suddenly, one of them approached. Sehun then realized that everyone had a name tag hanging on their clothes.

“Hey, Santa! Would you like to try?” name tag _‘Yuta’_ said.

Sehun turned to Jongin, and the latter shrugged, smiling.

“For mere trial purposes,” Jongin said.

Considering his options, Sehun concluded that he should do it. He was sure that Santa’s job included to make sure everything was working perfectly. He couldn’t fail in doing that.

Once set in line, Yuta counted down. When he excitedly shouted _‘Go!’,_ Sehun accelerated his car, promising himself that he wouldn’t have fun.

It was for mere trial purposes, after all.

 

 

Three hours had flown without him noticing and Sehun had been reluctant to leave. He had won 9 over 15 races they had run. He was on a winning streak! The best one of his life, he would dare to say. But it was time for lunch and now he headed to the cafeteria, leaving the trial purposes behind.

The place was down a hall between the SIM Workshop and the Manufacturing Department. It was wide, with enough tables for hundreds of people to sit and eat comfortably. He was impressed with how every room inside the factory was incredibly huge. The building from the outside didn’t give away how big it really was.

Standing awkwardly to the side, he scanned the room. Sure, everyone had greeted him, but the smiles were directed to Yifan, not him. He didn’t know anyone there, and the only elf he did know was nowhere to be seen.

“Why are you standing there?”

A deep voice asked behind him and Sehun turned to find Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongdae walking toward him.

“He says he hates us, but we all know he can’t live without us,” Jongdae said, once they stopped next to him. “It’s obvious he was waiting for us.”

“Aww, so sweet of you, Santa!” Baekhyun cooed, hitting Sehun on the shoulder. “Why do you look so lost, though?”

“Because he’s lost without us, of course.” Chanyeol smiled and Sehun confirmed that his smile in real life was as bright as that in his photo.

“But there’s something odd.” Jongdae narrowed his eyes. “Why aren’t you annoyed yet? You never let us speak this much.”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun curiously looked at him, seeming interested in his answer. Sehun just stood there, staring at them helplessly.

“Do you have a fever?” Chanyeol put a hand to Sehun’s forehead. “Do you want us to call Junmyeon?”

He wiggled his eyebrows, and Baekhyun and Jongdae laughed, leaving Sehun confused—he was sure he was missing something there.

“I’m fine,” he finally managed to say. “I was just… looking around.”

“Why?” Baekhyun poked him in the forehead twice, pushing Sehun’s head back. “What’s so interesting to look at?”

“He was looking for Junmyeon,” Jongdae provided, pushing Sehun to walk. “But he’s not here yet, so let’s move!”

He was escorted to the counter with Baekhyun and Jongdae to his sides and Chanyeol to his back. It made him feel in one of those teen movies where he was the new boy at school, and the trio was the group of popular guys everyone wanted to be with.

“Mom says hi, guys,” Chanyeol said, staring down at his phone as they took a tray and lined up.

“How’s Tokyo doing?” Baekhyun asked, snatching Chanyeol’s phone.

“They’re having a blast.” Chanyeol frowned at Baekhyun, but didn’t retrieve his phone back. “But today they reached 4°C. Mom says that dad walked down the street in shorts and everyone stared at him weirdly.”

Jongdae shook his head. “So unfair. They don’t know what it’s to wear thick clothes when the weather’s so hot!”

“Are you from Japan?” Sehun asked, trying not to gape at their definition of _‘hot’_.

The elves stared at him as if a horn had just grown on his face.

Baekhyun lightly hit Sehun’s chest with his tray. “What’s going on with you today?”

“I…” Sehun absentmindedly caressed his chest, thinking about a good answer. He couldn’t mess it up again. “Is Yixing going to join us?”

Big mistake. That only worsened their stares.

“Why are you asking weird things?” Jongdae’s face contorted, as if judging him. “You know that Yixing’s schedule no longer lets him eat with us.”

Just at that moment, their turn to pick up their food arrived, stopping Jongdae from saying something else. Sehun wanted to ask what he meant, but preferred not to.

As he pondered between choosing orange or apple juice, Chanyeol spoke again.

“Yixing’s not coming, but you know who is?”

They all looked at him, and Chanyeol jerked his head toward the entrance.

Sehun saw Junmyeon, along with Jongin, walking in. He felt the trio’s eyes on him, and when he looked at them, they smirked.

 _Yup,_ he definitely was missing something here.

 

 

Two hours had been enough for Sehun to eat and get to know the guys. Everyone Yixing had showed him in the files had been there. They were all very fun and had joked around, as if they knew each other for years—maybe they did. He was now more confident about interacting with them.

Sehun was supposed to go to the RBCD after that, and Luhan had waited for him so they would go together. He, however, wanted to rinse his mouth first, so he was now waiting for the elevator.

“Hello, Santa!”

The _ding_ reached his ears when he followed the voice behind him. Sehun found a group of elves entering the SIM Workshop and raised his hand to wave back. They hadn’t even got in the workshop when he was pulled inside the elevator by the collar of his sweater. The doors closed and a hand from behind pressed the button with Santa’s face. Sehun was released to find Yixing’s dimple greeting him.

“You need to stop doing that!” Sehun glared at him, trying to ignore Yixing’s bright smile.

“Where are you going?” Yixing asked instead. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“I want to brush my teeth.” Sehun’s glare didn’t disappear, making Yixing laugh. “How did you find me? Were you looking for me?”

“No? I was coming from Logistics and saw you standing there.” Yixing changed hands a small bucket Sehun just noticed. It contained a shovel and the remnants of what looked like dough. “Baekhyun told me that you asked for me, though.”

“Yeah, I… That’s the only thing that came to my mind.” Sehun stared at the buttons. “I thought Chanyeol was from Japan and they looked weirdly at me.”

Yixing chuckled. “At least they didn’t notice you’re not Yifan.”

When they got to the apartment, they headed to the bathroom and Yixing leaned on the door, waiting for Sehun.

“I read the article again,” he said. “I hadn’t seen that it mentions that the creator and the receiver of the magic are immune to perceiving the result.”

“So we’re the only ones who can see my real self?” Sehun asked, before putting the toothbrush to his mouth.

“Exactly!” Yixing smiled. “Now you don’t have to wear that ridiculous beard.”

Sehun widened his eyes, staring at Yixing through the sink’s mirror.

The elf laughed, shrugging. “It did look ridiculous.”

Sehun disbelievingly shook his head and continued with his brushing.

“On a different note,” Yixing added, “How’s the day going?”

“ _Id guin fighn_.”

Yixing raised his eyebrows, a smile dancing n his lips. Sehun put his thumb and forefinger together, asking him to wait.

“It’s going fine,” Sehun repeated once he finished. “In the morning I played with Jongin and— uh... We didn’t play. I mean… We were… Did you know they’re developing new toys?”

Yixing looked amused, but he just nodded. “Jongin mentioned something the other day.”

“Well, it was interesting.” Sehun placed his toothbrush in the glass he used, and set it on the sink. “I also met the other guys. All of them.”

“Baekhyun told me you all ate together. Did it go well? Sometimes they can be… too much.”

“I noticed…”

Yixing laughed and motioned him to come closer. Once Sehun was in front of him, he straightened and reached for his neck, trying to arrange his shirt.

“You just have to pretend you know what everyone’s talking about and you’ll do fine.”

“Is that what you do?”

“Most of the time, yes.”

Sehun laughed, shaking his head. “Do you pretend with me as well?”

“Nah, we’re still on good terms,” Yixing said, smiling. He patted Sehun on the chest when he was done. “Sorry for messing up your clothes.”

“You mean, _‘Sorry for choking you, Sehun’_.”

“I didn’t choke you.” Yixing rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I just wanted to check on you, but since you’re doing great, we should get going.”

Yixing walked out, going directly to the stairs, with Sehun following suit.

“Then you _were_ looking for me!” Sehun teasingly said as they climbed up. “Were you worried about me, pointy ears?”

“I wasn’t,” Yixing said, glancing back at him. “I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t ruined it.”

They reached the hallway and Yixing accompanied him to the entrance of the RBCD.

“It’s Luhan’s turn, right?” Yixing asked and Sehun nodded. “Then I’ll leave you here.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to make dough. There’s a hole somewhere else that needs to be fixed.” Yixing smiled and gave a few steps backward. “You have fun, okay? I’ll see you later.”

He gave him a last smile and turned around, walking toward the cafeteria. When he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder, finding Sehun still there. He waved and then disappeared through the doors.

Sehun did the same, entering the RBCD.

The place was an area as wide as the other rooms he had been at, but it was, literally, a barn. A very modern, high-tech barn. There were no machines, but hay. Everywhere. Though there was a path of stones where everyone could walk without stepping on the hay.

Following the path, Sehun saw to the left several pens; some empty, others with reindeer wandering around. He stared at them in awe. Never had he in his life seen one in real life; even less had he been that close from them. They had all different sizes, and he assumed some were younger than the others. The empty pens had elves who were cleaning, and Sehun wrinkled his nose—thank lord he wasn’t one of them!

Looking at his right, he found a glass door that said _‘Vet Area’_. Many white rooms were behind it, with elves checking the reindeer they had in there. At the front, he saw a gate. It was automatic, like every door in the factory. Just at that moment, an elf walked close, and it opened. A strong, icy breeze came through it immediately, and a cold shiver ran through Sehun’s spine. He felt every hair on his body bristling and his teeth rattled. He noticed that nobody was wearing clothes to protect themselves from the cold, yet he was the only one affected. How the hell did they do it?!

“Are you trembling?”

Sehun turned to see Luhan standing at the huge gate, holding some papers. He was wearing a white-and-red robe and a stethoscope was hanging on his neck.

“You’re trembling!” Luhan confirmed once he stood next to Sehun. “Are you sick?”

“I’m fine,” Sehun said, hugging himself to warm up a bit. “But do you have a jacket here?”

Luhan narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re not mad at you anymore.”

They? Who were _they_ _?_ And why were _they_ mad?

“Now stop being ridiculous and come with me.”

Luhan walked toward the gate again, and Sehun tried to follow, ignoring the shivers.

Outside, elves were beating the snow, trying to get it out of the way. They looked calm, as if the constant icy breeze didn’t affect them at all. His attention then got diverted from them, to focus on a group of elves who were standing around a herd of reindeer—nine, to be exact.

They were beautiful. Their fur was chocolate brown. They looked so soft and fluffy that Sehun wanted to run and hug them. Their antlers were long and powerful. Every time they moved, the artificial light that illuminated the whole area was reflected in the antlers, making them shine. It reminded him of the glittery light that was Yixing’s magic.

“They woke up last night,” Luhan said. “The hay’s effect hasn’t faded away, but hopefully tomorrow they’ll be wide awake.”

“Were they sleeping?”

Luhan frowned, but still nodded.

“Why?”

“You know how tiring the Gift Operation is for them. We give them special hay a month before Christmas so they’re well rested.”

“The special hay makes them sleep?”

Luhan nodded again.

Sehun knew he had to stop asking. He knew it, but he couldn’t help it! That was just… amazing!

“And the effect lasts a month?”

“Yeah?” Luhan tilted his head, staring oddly at him. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

Another breeze blew, making Sehun shiver. Luhan noticed and addressing an elf who was passing by, asked him to bring a jacket for Sehun. The elf returned with a long, thick jacket and Sehun didn’t hesitate to put it on. He felt his body getting warm immediately and he sighed in relief.

“Christmas is in five days, Yifan.” Luhan placed his hands on his hips, staring sternly at him. “Don’t you dare to get sick!”

Sehun was about to reply when a reindeer came to his rescue, pushing Luhan’s leg lightly with its head.

“Hello, buddy,” Luhan said, caressing the reindeer’s antlers. “How’re you feeling?”

The reindeer budged him on the leg again and Luhan smiled.

“Did you come to say hi to Santa? Did you miss him?”

The reindeer perked its ears at the mention of Santa, and it turned to look at Sehun. It stared at him, tilting his head, and Sehun gulped. He suddenly felt nervous; as if the reindeer could discover he was hiding something.

“What is it, Cupid? Don’t you want to be friends with Santa again?”

The reindeer—Cupid—didn’t move, making Luhan pout.

“Sorry, Santa. I think he’s still mad at you.”

At that moment, another reindeer approached, trying to get in between Luhan and Cupid.

“Prancer! Wait!” Luhan stumbled backward, widening his eyes. “This boy, seriously!”

Once Prancer was satisfied with his position between Luhan and Cupid, he looked at Sehun, and then at Cupid. Then at Sehun and tilted his head.

Sehun shivered again, and he was sure that it wasn’t because of the breeze.

“You’re still mad, too?” Luhan asked.

Prancer looked at the elf for a moment, just to go back and stare at Sehun.

“This will be harder than I thought.” Luhan sighed and scratched his head. “Alright, Santa. Let’s get to work.” He turned and clapped his hands, calling the other reindeer.

Meanwhile, Sehun stood there, trying to move as little as possible. These reindeer looked harmless, but he was sure that they knew he wasn’t Yifan and he didn’t know how they would react.

“Uhm… Hi, Cupid. Prancer,” he mumbled, trying to keep his voice low so the two reindeer would be the only ones hearing him. “My… My name’s Sehun and I’m here to help Yixing. Do you know him?”

The reindeer’s ears perked at Yixing’s name. They stared at him for a little more. Then they looked at each other and slowly walked toward Luhan.

Another breeze blew, making Sehun shiver.

He agreed with Luhan—this would be harder than what he had thought.

 

 

Sehun felt like crying. His activities in the RBCD involved interacting with the reindeer; feeding and playing with them. But the nine creatures had refused to cooperate. They had spent the two hours either staring at Sehun or ignoring him. Not even Rudolph had complied! And supposedly he was the nicest!

The good thing, according to Luhan, was that there were still some days before Christmas. That was enough time to, maybe, convince them to forgive him. Of course Sehun knew they weren’t helping because he wasn’t Yifan, but that didn’t lessen his curiosity to know what Yifan had done. How did someone make a reindeer mad, to begin with?

To top that, he was, _finally_ , sleepy. It was just 6 p.m. in the North Pole, but it was 3 a.m. in Seoul. He had got up early to get to the mall, so he was tired and sleepy and wanted to go home.

Yawning, he went to the second floor. It had two doors at the right, two doors at the left, and one at the front. The one he was looking for was the first to the left—the one with a _‘Training and Fitness Department’_ sign. He walked toward it, but when the door opened and he looked around, his face fell.

The place was a gym.

A. Fucking. Gym.

With treadmills; elliptical bikes; weights; a weird room at the furthest corner, made of glass walls; and another room with screens that had maps.

Sehun hated gyms. He loved to eat pizza and drink bubble tea; not to lift weights and sweat like a pig.

He considered fleeing, but Minseok was already in front of him not giving him any chance.

“Why do you look so pale? Are you alright?”

How many times had Sehun heard that question? Like four? Yet this was the first time he actually considered replying with a _‘no’._

“What exactly are we going to do?” he asked instead.

At this, Minseok smiled.

“Since when are you so eager to start? I like it.”

Trying not to huff, Sehun shrugged. “I’m just curious.”

“Then go change your clothes and find me at the Simulation Cube.”

_The what?_

Minseok lightly pushed him when he didn’t move, jerking his head toward a door that read ‘Lockers Room’.

Behind it, Sehun found other three doors, each with a sticker—a boy elf; a girl elf; and Santa’s face. He got in Santa’s. It was like a closet with apparently new sportswear. Without thinking too much, he choose a pair of black sweats, a gray shirt and a pair of running shoes.

Once out, he looked for a sign that said _‘Simulation Cube’_ , but he didn’t see it. What could that—

“Santa, come here!” Minseok was waiting for him at the room with glass walls. “You know that taking your time won’t stop the training!”

Sehun gulped but still moved toward him.

The Cube was like an empty arena. The only things in there were a large screen at the front; one-sided window to the right, connected to the other room he had seen with the screens and maps; and a table underneath the window.

“We’ll start with our usual training,” Minseok said. “Today we’re working with polar climate, so you’ll be just fine.”

He indicated him how to stretch his limbs and muscles for over 20 minutes. The elf did every exercise with him and Sehun for a moment wondered if that was how it felt to have a personal trainer. When they were done, Minseok motioned to the window and the screen turned on, showing a… _Was that an electrocardiogram?_

“Clothes off, Fan,” Minseok said, as he took a bunch of electrode pads from the table.

“But I’ve just changed,” Sehun lamely complained. Why did he have to do it, anyway?

Minseok snorted, raising his eyebrows. “You know how this works. Please undress yourself.”

Sehun did as he was told. Once he was standing in only his underwear, Minseok put the colored patches on his wrists, ankles, chest and back. When he was done, Sehun’s vital signs appeared on the screen and, _oh, great!_ He was still alive!

“You’re set. I’ll be at the other side of the window, monitoring you.”

With that Minseok was out and the lights turned off. The electrocardiogram moved to the upper right corner of the screen. The remaining space showed the image of what would surely look like to stand in the middle of the North Pole, with snow everywhere.

 _“At the count of three, Santa.”_ Minseok’s voice came out from a speaker. _“Are you ready?”_

Sehun shook his head and Minseok’s laughter echoed all over the Cube.

_“One.”_

On the screen, standing in the middle of the cold scenery, a cartoon of Yifan appeared.

_“Two.”_

It simulated to be stretching and jumped a few times, waiting to start the training.

_“Three!”_

A loud beep sounded and the cartoon began to do _jumping jacks_. Sehun assumed he had to follow it. However, he was more focused on the snow falling from the ceiling and the cold breeze that blew strong inside the Cube.

_“C’mon, Santa! Jump!”_

Sehun wanted to run away. The deal had been to pretend to be Santa, not to do exercise inside a freezer! Now that he thought about it, when Yixing had opened Minseok’s file, he had mentioned the elf’s treats, but he never said something about what they did at his department. He had explained what each department’s job was, except for this one. And Sehun hadn’t been smart enough to notice that… _until now._

_“If you don’t jump, we’ll go out and use real snow, Yifan.”_

“Why are you so aggressive?” Sehun asked, as he reluctantly followed the cartoon’s movements.

_“It’s my job, buddy. Now stop talking and jump.”_

Sehun whimpered and tried to ignore how the air felt like small daggers cutting his skin. After who knows how much time, the cartoon changed the exercise, making _burpees_. He gaped at the screen and Minseok’s voice flooded the Cube again, threatening to make him run all the way to the Arctic Ocean in only his underwear if he didn’t move.

And so Sehun moved.

Fast.

And now he wasn’t sleepy anymore!

_Yixing, you’ll definitely owe me a big one after this._

 

 

Groaning, Sehun crashed into the chair in Yifan’s office. He was wrecked. His limbs felt heavy and muscles that never in his life had hurt, were asking for mercy. Minseok’s training had been the hardest he had ever experienced. Not only had he jumped and run with snow and cold air around; he couldn’t even rest for more than a minute or two.

Sehun thought he wouldn’t come out alive. Those had been the worst two hours of his life!

He wanted to bury under the blankets of the bed and never leave it again. Seriously. But he had tons of letters to read.

After his training, he had gone to Yifan’s apartment and showered. He was still under the jet of hot water when Junmyeon had knocked on the bathroom door. According to him, it was the Head Elf’s responsibility to help Santa with reading the letters, but the Mailing Department was facing some problems and he had to solve them. He had wanted to know whether Yifan was still okay with reading all the letters without help.

Sehun didn’t know what he was talking about, but still told him not to worry. That he was okay with it—and how couldn’t he! The last thing he wanted was to have Junmyeon around for so long. It was too risky.

But looking at the letters, he thought that maybe some help wouldn’t have been bad. The shelves had been empty the night before when Yixing had showed him the elves’ files. Now they were full with who knows how many letters for Santa and he didn’t know where to start.

He groaned again and rested his head on the back of the chair. Maybe he could read them later, after a short nap. After all, it was already past 5 a.m. in Seoul. He had to rest.

“What happened to you?”

Sehun raised his head from the back of the chair, glaring at Yixing, who was standing at the door.

“You look horrible,” Yixing said, walking in. “Was Minnie rude to you?”

 _“Minnie?”_ Sehun frowned. “He was a _meanie_ , yes! And so were you! It was never part of the deal to run naked in the snow!”

“Actually, it was.” Yixing stood next to the shelves, moving some empty carts from his way. “But I didn’t mention it.”

“And that was because…”

“You would’ve refused to stay, otherwise.”

“That’s not true!”

Yixing glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Alright, maybe I would’ve refused,” Sehun said. “But still! It would’ve been nice to know what Minseok's job was. How does Yifan even deal with this?”

“He doesn’t.” Yixing walked around the desk and turned on the screen. “Minseok’s department exists because Santa needs to undergo tests with different climatic conditions, so he’s accustomed to the drastic changes from one country to another. It’s to prevent any collapse due to dehydration or pneumonia on the way.”

Sehun contorted his face. That sounded horrible.

“Yifan knows that,” Yixing continued, “But he still complains _all_ the time. I’m sure you behaved, so Minseok’s surely pleased with you.”

 _Ha!_ Sehun doubted it…

“Anyway, I know Junmyeon can’t help, so I came to give you a hand.”

Yixing walked back to the shelves and beckoned Sehun to come closer.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“The process is called _‘The Reading-Letters System’,”_ Yixing explained. “It consists of three main steps: _reading, scanning,_ and _sending.”_

The letters, as Sehun already knew, were collected by the Mailing Department. There, the _Translating Team_ was in charge of translating all of them so Santa could understand them. Then the _Codification Team_ assigned them a barcode to classify them. After that, they were sent to Santa’s office. Each shelf in the office had both a scanner and a screen. Santa had to place the barcode in front of the scanner, and in the screen would appear the translated version of the letter. Meanwhile, the database of the owner, updated by the Behavior Quality Control Department, would load in the screen behind the desk.

The barcodes were designed to change in color once scanned. If the kid was classified in the ‘Nice List’, it would turn green. If the kid was in the ‘Naughty List’, it would turn red. But if the kid was classified as _‘Neutral’_ , it would be blue. It was then the Head Elf’s labor to separate them and put each letter in one of the three mailboxes that were next to the entrance of the office. Green barcodes went to the _Manufacturing_ mailbox; red barcodes, to the _Coal_ mailbox; and blue barcodes, to the _Gingerbread_ mailbox. Then each department would receive the letters and prepare the gifts, to finally send them to the Wrapping Department.

“Since you’re Santa, you’ll be in charge of the _reading_  and scanning steps,” Yixing said. “Then you’ll put the letters in the carts and I’ll help you do the rest. Sounds good?”

Sehun nodded and Yixing beamed at him.

“Then start reading in what I return.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll go find you some painkillers. You’ll need them if we want you to move tomorrow.” Yixing glanced at him, tilting his head. “Are you by chance allergic to them?”

Sehun shook his head and Yixing left the office after muttering an _okay_.

Once alone, Sehun warily took one of the letters. He found a pastel pink sheet with abstract art made with red and purple crayons. He was sure that the owner didn’t even know what a letter—or even Santa—was. He scanned it, and saw how a small paragraph appeared on the screen.

 _‘Dear Santa,’_ he read, _‘I wish you could give me a big, fluffy teddy bear that I can hug and take a nap with. With love, Kari.’_

Sehun smiled, surprised that there were someone that could understand what that abstract art meant. He turned to see the screen behind the desk, and he confirmed that there was a kid’s database.

 

 **_« Kari Hagen_ ** _; 3 years old—Hedmark, Norway;_

 **_« Behavioral Statistical Index:_ ** _9/10;_

 **_« Status:_ ** _Nice List—Letter Approved. **»**_

 

At that moment, a bubbling sensation filled Sehun’s chest and without realizing it, his smile widened.

“Well, Kari,” he said, “It looks like you’ll get a teddy bear this year.”

He put the letter in one of the carts and continued with his task. And while reading the letter from Mikkel Larsen, a 7-year-old Danish boy who wanted a huge set of interlocking plastic bricks to build a castle and play knights with his brother Emil, Sehun thought that maybe it hadn’t been that wrong to come.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, people! How are you doin’? How’s been your year so far? Mine’s been cool, I guess, but I got back to school and professors weren’t nice. I’ve had lots of homework and that left me with very little time to write. That’s why the update came so late…
> 
> Well… That, and also, I have to admit that part of my Christmas motivational vibes are gone. I mean, St. Valentine’s Day is almost here and I was still stuck on Christmas and I was just like ???? It was weird hahaha but by any means will I abandon this baby! So don’t worry, I’ll give you and ending. xD
> 
> But yeah, that’s pretty much it haha thanks for reading! I’ll try to come back soon with the next chapter! ♥(:


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is:
> 
> **“발자국 On the snow”** by **EXO**
> 
> You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RNiHiH6jSCAtfZhRjQU1U) .  
> 
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

 

> **F O U R**
> 
> **_D-4 UNTIL CHRISTMAS_ **

 

 

_Alright, Sehun. You can do this._

He took a deep breath and decidedly walked toward the bench.

“Zitao,” he mumbled, tapping the boy’s shoulder. “Can… Can I talk to you for a second?”

Zitao turned back, smiling once he saw it was him.

“Sehun! I was waiting for you!”

Oh… _Really?_

“Someone told me you wanted to tell me something,” Zitao said. “Is it true?”

Sehun gulped—no, he couldn’t do this.

“Uh… I-I… Uh… I…”

Zitao smiled and tilted his head. “Is everything alright?”

_Come on, Sehun! You can do it!_

“Uh… yeah. I— yes! Yes! I bought you something.”

Sehun extended his hand, revealing a pretty bracelet with a small pearl dangling in the middle.

“Oh, my god! Sehun!” Zitao widened his eyes and jumped to his feet. “Is it for me?”

Sehun shyly nodded and Zitao launched himself, crashing with him.

“God! I love it! It’s so pretty! It’s perfect!”

_Wow. Wow. Wowwwww._

“Oh, God!” Zitao squealed, squeezing Sehun even more. “I love you! You’re so pretty! You’re perfect!”

_Shit. Shit. Shittttt._

“Listen,” Zitao said. He broke the hug and Sehun almost whined. _Almost_. “There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for quite a long time and I need to let it out before I explode.”

Sehun held his breath. This wasn’t happening, was it?

“Sehun,” Zitao said, cupping Sehun’s face with his hands.

God! It was really happening!

“Sehun,” Zitao repeated.

He had imagined himself in this situation many times before, yet he never thought that Zitao would be the first one to confess. This was like a Christmas miracle!

“Sehun, wake up.”

_What?_

“Come on, Sehun. It’s time.”

Sehun frowned and took a step back.

Suddenly everything began to fade away. At first he couldn’t see anything, but then a faint, horizontal light appeared in front of him. It grew bigger and, at the same time, he heard a voice that didn’t belong to Zitao anymore.

_“Please, Sehun. I’ll be late.”_

Now his view wasn’t black but blurred. Sehun blinked a few times and little by little adjusted to the light. Then the source of the voice got a face.

“Good morning.”

Yixing was faintly smiling at him, with his arms on the mattress next to Sehun’s head, and his chin hovering over them.

Sehun frowned.

He had been _so_ close… Yixing just had to wait a few more seconds! This was unbelievable…

“No good morning, then?” Yixing asked, grimacing when he saw Sehun’s face.

“No. You interrupted my dream.”

Yixing raised his eyebrows. "Was it a good dream?"

"The best of my life and I won’t know how it ends.”

Sehun cleared his throat and tried to rub his face, but his arms were heavy. He groaned, feeling as if needles were stabbing his arms and his back. Minseok’s training had left him sore; more than he had ever been in his life.

“Oww! It hurts!”

He contorted his face, now aware that even breathing hurt. He tried to sit on the bed, but as soon as he moved, the needles came back with full force. He whimpered, already imagining himself spending the rest of his life lying there.

“I’ll never be able to move again!” Sehun whined. “I’ll stay here until I become one with the bed!”

“You can’t do that,” Yixing said, raising to his feet. “You need to get out before Yifan awakes.”

The elf removed the blankets and without a warning, rolled sored Sehun to one side.

“Yixing, no! What are you doing?!”

Sehun wasn’t sure but maybe a tear was rolling down his cheek.

Yixing didn’t reply. He just offered him his hands, and Sehun got the elf’s intentions. The movement was painful, but he still succeeded in holding Yixing’s hands. He groaned when he moved his legs to lower them from the bed. He needed a moment to prepare himself for what was to come. He stayed there, lying in a weird position and whimpering more than what was necessary.

Yixing didn’t hurry him, but Sehun discovered that he was trying to suppress his laughter.

“Are you having fun?” he asked, unwillingly pouting.

Yixing shook his head, yet still looked more than amused. “When you’re ready,” he said.

Sehun took a deep breath—he could do it. Yixing was there. He would help him and nothing would go wrong.

Releasing the air in his lungs, Sehun looked at Yixing and slowly nodded. Yixing then pulled him up, straightening Sehun’s arms as delicate as possible. Sehun helped him, tensing his body even though it hurt, so he could take a sitting position. He bit his lip, suppressing the whimpers that threatened to escape. He just hoped he wasn’t crying. It was already embarrassing enough.

He didn’t move for a moment, waiting for his muscles to adjust to the new position and the needles to disappear. He breathed in and his nostrils registered the smell of… _was that cinnamon?_ He sniffed and _yeah,_ it was cinnamon.

“You smell like a cookie,” Sehun said.

Yixing’s hands tensed under his.

“Does it smell a lot?”

Sehun sniffed again. It was strong, but he wasn’t sure whether it was because Yixing was standing close or because of the smell itself. He hadn’t noticed it before, so maybe it was the former. Had Yixing always smelled like that?

He nodded and Yixing furrowed his eyebrows, letting go of Sehun’s hands and stepping back.

Sehun almost tried to reach back. Holding hands with Yixing helped him lessen the pain in his arms, but that would’ve been weird, so he just let his arms drop to his sides.

“Does it disturb you?” Yixing asked, looking worried. “I could bring you something to cover your nose.”

“Why would it disturb me?”

“The guys say that I make their noses itchy. It’s been a year and they’re still not used to the cinnamon, I guess, but I can’t help it!” Yixing pouted. “I can’t get rid of it! I’ve tried everything, but it doesn’t go away!”

Sehun smiled, finding Yixing’s face funny. “I didn’t say it was a bad smell.”

“It isn’t?”

Sehun shook his head.

“Ah…” Yixing stared at the bed for a moment and then slightly smiled. “Well… if it ever disturbs you, let me know.”

Sehun nodded, wanting to pinch the elf’s dimple.

“Anyway,” Yixing said, “I was hoping for you not to be sore anymore, but I was expecting a lot, wasn’t I?”

He took a glass of water from the drawer and handed it to Sehun, along with a painkiller. Sehun hissed when he reached for the glass, but still did his best and brought the pill to his mouth like a champion. At the same time, Yixing covered him with his magical, glittery light. It did its work as Sehun gulped the water and in a matter of seconds it was gone.

“I’ll leave the package of pills here,” Yixing said. “You’ll probably need it later, but please don’t take more than what’s necessary.”

“Am I gonna see Minseok today?”

Yixing slowly nodded, looking apologetic. Sehun groaned, dropping his head to the front, regretting it immediately. His neck also hurt.

“Does preparing you breakfast help?” Yixing asked.

“Feeding me won’t diminish your guilt, pointy ears. But I’ll gladly accept your food.”

Sehun stood up. He slowly straightened his limbs and pursed his lips. He wouldn’t groan anymore. Feeling like a grandpa, he walked toward the bathroom with Yixing’s chuckle in the background. His legs were heavy, too. Each step hurt more than the previous one, yet he managed to keep any pained sound at bay. He didn’t hear Yixing leaving the bedroom, but as he closed the bathroom’s door, he wished he were closer to him so he could ask the elf to help him take a shower, instead. His arms would’ve thanked him for sure.

 

 

Sehun walked out the bedroom wearing a green sweater that made him feel like a Christmas tree. He wondered whether Yifan actually liked to dress with such things—Sehun certainly didn’t.

The smell of butter and cinnamon was flooding the place and his mouth watered. He looked around, but didn’t see anybody in there.

“Yixing?”

Not receiving a response, he walked toward the counter. He found a plate with three French toasts, topped with strawberries and whipped cream, next to a cup of probably tea and a piece of paper. His stomach growled and he sat, assuming that that food was for him.

He sipped his tea and took the paper.

 

_‘Sorry for not waiting for you, but it was getting late. Hope you enjoy your food!’_

 

Sehun gave the toast a bite and looked at the hour on his phone—it was 10:19 a.m., local time. Last night he had added a widget to his screen with the Greenwich hour. He was tired of adding and subtracting hours from one time zone to the other.

Last night, also, he had learned that time moved slower when you were Santa and your duty was to read kids’ letters. In the span of two hours—that had felt like nine—he and Yixing had managed to read and send them all to their respective department. Once they were done, he was surprised to see that it was just a little past 10 p.m.

 _“It’s thanks to Christmas magic,”_ had Yixing said, and Sehun didn’t doubt it.

That, however, didn’t make him feel less worn out. After standing for a while, his legs, already tired from the training, began to tremble. He couldn’t stretch his arms completely, either, and reading became one of the most tiring activities he had ever done. He had feared that his body would be sore the next morning.

Yixing had assured him that the painkillers would help, but evidently that hadn’t been enough to get rid of the havoc Minseok’s torture had wreaked. Taking a shower had helped, though. His muscles were less tensed than when he had woken up and the pill had begun to work. At least he could move now.

He was in the middle of his second toast when the elevator doors opened, revealing a happy Junmyeon.

“Hello, Santa! How was your night?”

Sehun chewed faster so he could reply, but Junmyeon shook his head.

“No, no! Don’t. You’ll choke and we— _is that French toast?”_ Junmyeon stopped a few steps away from Sehun, raising an eyebrow. “Since when do you prepare decent breakfasts?”

Sehun gave another bite, now chewing slower than usual. He needed time to think because apparently something was weird here. Did Yifan cook? Did he hate strawberries, maybe? Did he even eat breakfast? Sehun didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. He had to find an answer, lest he wanted Junmyeon to suspect.

But it wasn’t that hard, actually. In everyone’s eyes, he was Yifan, and as far as he knew, it seemed that Yixing was friends with him, and Junmyeon, and all the other guys. It wouldn’t be weird whether Yixing had come and prepared breakfast for him, then. They were friends. Friends did nice things for each other.

Junmyeon sat next to him, glancing at the remaining toast on the plate.

“Yixing made it,” Sehun finally said.

Junmyeon raised his eyebrows just to knit them immediately together. “Yixing?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why was he here?”

Sehun would’ve thought Junmyeon was displeasured, but in his voice there was only confusion—which made Sehun confused, too. Had he said something wrong again? Wasn’t Yixing supposed to come or...?

Junmyeon stared at him, waiting. Sehun drifted his eyes toward the wall. _Bingo!_

“He wanted to check the hole he had fixed. He said something about the dough not drying. I didn’t understand much.”

Junmyeon stared a little bit more before nodding. “He’s doing better, isn’t he? I was worried he wouldn’t get used to it, but I’ve seen him more relaxed.”

The toast remained half way toward Sehun’s mouth, as he gaped at Junmyeon. What did ‘doing better’ mean? Why did he always feel that there were parts of the story that nobody was telling him?

“Anyway, let’s get to work.” Junmyeon was glancing at his tablet, unaware of Sehun’s stare. “Today you’ll start with Yeol. Please be gentle. It’s not his fault that you’re not as bubbly as him.”

Sehun finally bit his toast.

“I can be bubbly, too,” he said, putting his hand under his chin when a few crumbles escaped from his mouth.

He wasn’t sure about Yifan, but he, Oh Sometimes-Bubbly Sehun, definitely could.

Junmyeon chuckled, connecting his eyes with him. “It doesn’t count if the only one who knows that side of you is me.”

Sehun swallowed the piece of toast he had just bitten almost without chewing. Junmyeon was… There was something on his eyes that he couldn’t understand. Why was Junmyeon looking at him like that? Nobody had ever looked at him like that. Not that he was aware, at least. And it was weird. Super weird. It made him uncomfortable. He felt like an intruder; as if he wasn’t supposed to be witnessing this— _well…_ technically, the one who should’ve been witnessing this was Yifan, not him. But still.

At his lack of words, Junmyeon cleared his throat and drifted his eyes back to the tablet.

“I guess there’s not much to say about your schedule. You go to Chanyeol and then everything else goes the same as yesterday.

“As for today’s pending issues, have you already chosen the Christmas dinner?”

Sehun raised his eyebrows and Junmyeon suppressed a smile.

“Remember to do it before tomorrow, please.”

“Sure, but… what were the options, again?”

Junmyeon snorted and Sehun took a sip of tea, covering his face with the cup.

“If you keep forgetting these things, we’ll be lost before Christmas even comes.”

Sehun was a 95% sure that they’ve been lost ever since Yixing had intercepted him at the mall, but of course Junmyeon didn’t have to know that. He just wished he could decrease that percentage. _‘Replaced Santa Claus once and helped saving Christmas’_ would look nice in his CV. And it would also be a good story to tell his grand—

“Are you listening, Yifan?”

Sehun blinked a few times. “What?”

“I take my words back.” Junmyeon shook his head. “We’re probably already lost.”

 _Tea_ , Sehun thought, taking another sip from his cup.

 

 

The arrow pointing to the left—the one next to the ‘Manufacturing Department’ arrow—led Sehun to the Wrapping department.

As soon as he stepped in, he found an uncountable amount of paper rolls and ribbon reels in different colors and textures. They were scattered in rows and rows of long tables, and elves were working around them. Some elves put the toys inside their respective box; others wrapped; many others put the ribbons on each gift.

There were three conveyor belts at the back, where toys slowly paraded. The elves there collected and put them into carts, to send them to be transformed into gifts. Sehun followed the belts with his eyes, realizing that they were connected to the Manufacturing department. Those toys were, literally, freshly assembled.

“Hello, Santa!”

A girl with short, brown hair was standing next to him— _’Yeri’_ , read her tag. She had many layers of cut paper in her hands, and her arms were wrapped around a box with silver ribbons.

“Do you need help?” Sehun asked. “Let me—”

“Oh! No, no! I’m fine! It’s not heavy.” Yeri smiled, adjusting the box. “Are you looking for Chanyeol?”

“Ah, yes. Do you know where—”

“He’s over there!” She jerked her head toward a table with reels of pink ribbon.

Sehun thanked her and after Yeri left, walked toward the table. Chanyeol was focused on making a ribbon, and the elves intently stared at his hands, trying not to lose detail of it.

“Then you’ll pull these strings carefully and that’s it,” Chanyeol said, showing around the result. “This way your ribbons won’t loosen. Any doubts?”

The elves shook their heads, and Chanyeol proudly smiled. It was then that he noticed Sehun’s presence and his smile widened.

“Hey! Are you here to learn how to make the perfect ribbon, Santa?”

“Uhm… no?” Was Yifan supposed to learn that? Probably not. “No, I don’t think so,” Sehun said, sounding more convinced.

Chanyeol shrugged. “Not everyone’s suitable to learn the fine arts of wrapping, anyway,” he said. “Alright, guys, practice what I taught you. If you have doubts, you can come find me.”

He patted one of the elves on the shoulder and then walked toward Sehun.

“Where do we start, Santa? Lead our way!”

That was a good question. Sehun looked around and his eyes landed in a table were an elf neatly placed a doll inside its box.

“It’s your place,” he said. “ _You_ lead our way.”

Chanyeol smiled as if that had been the correct thing to say. “Come with me.”

They wandered among the tables. Each elf there was patiently doing their job, making every gift look perfect. Sehun praised them internally. He was sure that, whether this were his job, he wouldn’t stand it. Crafting wasn’t his thing, but these people looked like fish in water. As if they had been designed to work nowhere but here.

They reached a table that had small screens underneath its surface; each one in front of a seat. The elves around it were focused on writing in decorated paper sheets whatever they saw on the screens, as well as cutting them into small rectangles once they had finished.

“Hello, guys,” Chanyeol said, taking a seat. “Do you need four extra hands?”

It was then that the elves noticed their presence. They first looked at the newcomer of their table and greeted him. But Chanyeol only had two hands, so they looked around, finding Sehun standing awkwardly at the side.

“Santa!”

“Hello, Santa!”

“Oh, Santa!”

Sehun smiled, bowing slightly. When he looked straight again, he found the elves staring at him, completely taken aback— _right._ He was in the North Pole. They didn’t bow.

 _Good one, Sehun_.

Nobody spoke for a moment and he feared someone would suspect. However, the only question he got was, “Are your parents back in Asia by any chance?” from Chanyeol.

His… parents? Well, yeah. Sehun’s were in South Korea but… Yifan’s? He didn’t know.

They looked intently at him, waiting. Sehun had never felt so much pressure before.

“Yes, they’ve been in Seoul since Monday,” he lied. “Why?”

“Hm… That explains everything,” Chanyeol said. “Every time they go there, they adopt customs that you end up repeating.”

Sehun just stood there, not knowing how to reply, but Chanyeol immediately forced him to move and take a seat.

“You can’t stay there just watching. Today you’ll help us writing name tags.”

Chanyeol turned on the screens in front of them and handed Sehun a stack of decorated sheets, as well as some golden markers and a pair of scissors. On the screen appeared a name and an address. Everyone was back at their tasks.

The sheet had, Sehun noticed, nine rectangles and Chanyeol was writing in one of them the name and address that was on his screen. His handwriting was neat and stylized. It looked elegant and so did the other elves’. For a moment he wished he had paid more attention to his own handwriting. It was nothing near to look decent. Nonetheless, he took a marker and wrote slowly, taking his time with each stroke.

“What do I do now?” he asked once he had filled the nine rectangles.

“You should cut them,” the elf next to him said. His name tag read ‘Mark’. “Then send them through this small opening”—he tapped the center of the table—”and then you can continue working.”

Mark nodded, sending him a reassuring smile, and Sehun wished he could be as confident as him.

He tried to cut slowly so he wouldn’t mess up the cards, but when he finished with all of them, he realized that they were uneven. He winced, not liking what he had done.

“You’re really bad at it.” Chanyeol tried not to crack a mocking smile when he took a look.

“Why don’t I leave it to the experts and just listen how things are going here, instead?” Sehun asked, placing the scissors back on the table and pushing his material away.

“I don’t think so.” Chanyeol moved everything back to Sehun. “Maybe you can’t cut, but still. Send those and continue with the next ones. I’m sure you’ll improve.”

Sehun scrunched his nose up, yet he sent his horrible cards. He took back his marker and continued writing.

“As for how things are going, we’ve been pretty good,” Chanyeol eventually said, scissors in hand. “Although we’ve had to stop wrapping baby gifts a few times. Four, to be more specific.”

Sehun placed down his scissors and watched how the elf quickly moved his hands, looking like a master of cutting. The result was a stack of nine perfect cards. Life sometimes supplied people with interesting skills…

“That’s delayed the process and we— why aren’t you working?” Chanyeol didn’t even look away from his cards. How did he know? He was on another level. His demanding tone was enough for Sehun to tap his screen and move to the next name. “As I was saying, that’s delayed the process and now we’re running out of time to get it all done.”

“Do you think you’ll finish on time?” Sehun asked, contemplating how what was supposed to be an ‘a’ looked more like a ‘d’. It read ‘Lucdh’ and he wasn’t happy with the outcome.

“Absolutely!” Chanyeol enthusiastically nodded, still focused on writing. “There’s no way we’ll let those babies down!”

That was a good compromise. Sehun would’ve mentioned it, but he was busier glaring at the stupid card. The ‘d’ was now a deformed version of a ‘q’ and it looked horrible.

Chanyeol noticed it and looked over Sehun’s hand, only to contort his face, trying not to laugh. “I can’t believe you can’t write, either.”

He took the paper and draw a few lines connecting each letter, turning them into a cursive font. He made some corrections to the ugly ‘a/d/q’ letter and _voilà!_ They finally had a _‘Lucah’_ written there.

“I think you should leave it to the experts and just listen how things are going here,” Chanyeol offered, shrugging.

Sehun narrowed his eyes. “That’s what I had already said.”

“I know, I have great ideas!” Chanyeol grinned and gave him a thumbs up. “Thanks for recognizing it.”

Scoffing, Sehun pushed his material aside once more. He stayed there, just warming up his seat while the elves worked. Chanyeol continued with his report and he intently listened.

At first he had tried to learn all the data the elf was giving him, thinking that later he would probably have to provide Yifan with some sort of report—they had reduced the wrapping time for small gifts by 10 seconds. They had designed three new styles of ribbons. They had saved around 5,000 meters of wrapping paper by not wrapping bikes and skates. It wasn’t as if kids didn’t know what was underneath those layers of paper, anyway. They were working on the development of a recycled paper made of tires that would help with global warming, as well.

Sehun lost if after that. Chanyeol was like a radio, always blurting out information; only stopping when someone came to ask him something. It was hard to keep up with him.

The elf of course noticed when Sehun was confused, and never failed to mock him. Either because of his face or because of his weird questions. He found everything so funny that he laughed, falling from his seat and rolling on the floor. Sehun wasn’t sure whether he was actually funny or if Chanyeol was an exaggerated person, but it was interesting to witness the scene, even so.

The good part was that, as Yixing had said, Chanyeol was one of the kindest elves of all. He made fun of him, but he always answered Sehun’s questions without removing the smile from his face.

Sehun didn’t even realize that time had flown by, but when the elves at the table—and all over the place, actually—began to leave their seats, he knew it was already lunch time.

“What do you think we’ll have today for lunch?” Chanyeol asked once they walked through the doors of the cafeteria. “I kind of want to eat hot dogs.”

“Hot dogs?”

“Yeah, hot dogs. The other day I was talking to Yixing and we agreed that it had been long since we’ve last eaten those.” Chanyeol took a tray and got in line, Sehun following suit. “You know how much Yixing likes them and I was craving one, too. We even joked that it would be a good Christmas dinner.”

That was… interesting. Sehun had never stopped to think about Yixing’s tastes. Having that information made him feel less like a stranger in such a place.

“What about Christmas dinner?” a voice behind them asked, taking Sehun away from his thoughts. He turned around to find Minseok and Kyungsoo taking their trays.

“Hello, guys!” Chanyeol beamed at them, earning two smiles as a response.

“Are you talking about our Christmas dinner?” Minseok asked.

“Are we having turkey again?” Kyungsoo scrunched his nose up toward Sehun. “Please tell me we’re not.”

“Why not? Turkey’s delicious!” Chanyeol said as he took a plate with what looked like a club sandwich. “And it’s traditional, too!”

“I don’t care about traditions.” Kyungsoo placed a bowl of noodles on his tray, completely unaware of Chanyeol’s shocked stare. “We’ve had turkey ever since we were kids and I’m tired of it.”

Chanyeol looked miserable at Kyungsoo’s distaste over turkey and Sehun was rather amused. That morning, Junmyeon had reminded him about their Christmas-dinner options and he knew that Yifan didn’t want turkey that year, either. He considered telling them about it, but he preferred to select his lunch silently.

“How come you don’t like it?! It’s amazing!” Chanyeol stood on his place, staring at Kyungsoo. The line stopped because of that, but he didn’t mind it. “Plus I read that it has very few calories and very little fat and cholesterol content. That’s good to maintain our weight. Tell him, Minseok!”

“Actually”—Minseok waved his hand to make Chanyeol move—“you’re wrong.”

Sehun was now standing next to Chanyeol, both already out of the line with their food on their trays. He had expected Minseok to go along with Chanyeol’s statement. After all, they were elves. They were supposed to love Christmas and everything related to it—that included the great dinner. But now he was curious. Was Chanyeol really wrong or was Minseok only messing up with him?

“Why am I wrong?” Chanyeol asked once they were walking among the tables, looking for a seat.

“Because— _oh!_ _Hello!”_ Minseok found Baekhyun and Jongin sitting three tables ahead, and led them over there.

Chanyeol took a seat not sparing a glance at them. “Because what?!”

“Because—” Minseok started again, but got interrupted by Baekhyun.

“ _’Because what’_ what?”

Chanyeol waved his hand in front of Baekhyun’s face and shushed him. Baekhyun frowned and was about to say something when the rest of the group—Luhan, Junmyeon and Jongdae—arrived. They placed their trays on the table interchanging greetings with everyone.

“Why does Chanyeol look so stressed?” Jongdae asked once everyone had settled.

“He’s in the middle of discovering why turkey isn’t as healthy as he thought it was,” Sehun said, for the very first time being an active member in this conversation.

“It isn’t?” Luhan asked.

Everyone immediately looked at Minseok, who had just put a spoonful of rice to his mouth. The elf felt all the eyes on him and slowly looked around the table.

“What?”

“The turkey, Minseok!” Chanyeol exclaimed, shaking his hands.

“Oh, that! Yeah…” Minseok put down his spoon and cleaned his mouth. “Turkey is good for our health, indeed. It’s a source of proteins, vitamins of the B complex and minerals such as potassium or zinc. It does have little fat and cholesterol content, so it helps prevent cardiovascular diseases. It’s also 71% water, promoting hydration and—“

“I’m falling asleep,” Jongdae interrupted, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Go to the point.”

Minseok narrowed his eyes at Jongdae but still cut off his nutritional facts. “The problem is that we don’t only eat turkey. A normal portion of stuffed turkey by itself contains around 500 calories, and then we add mashed or roasted potatoes or carrots, pasta, cake, gingerbread cookies, snacks, and punch, alcohol or soda.

“An average person consumes over 5,000 calories during Christmas dinner. An average marathon runner burns around 100 calories per mile, so we would need to run two marathons to work off all the calories we get in our system in just one night.”

By the time Minseok finished his speech, the other guys at the table were gaping at him.

Sehun was utterly shocked. How did that man remember all those things? That wasn’t normal! But then again, they weren’t normal. And also, Minseok was like a trainer. Of course we would know all that stuff.

“How did you get all that information in your head?” Jongin asked as if he had just read Sehun’s mind, staring at Minseok who had just gone back to eating his rice. “I’m pretty sure that Junmyeon wouldn’t be able to remember all that, and _it’s Junmyeon_ whom we’re talking about!”

“Should I be offended?” Junmyeon asked, frowning slightly.

“I think you should.” Baekhyun pointed a fork that held a piece of chicken toward Junmyeon. “Jongin’s offending you!” He then pointed his fork at Sehun, ignoring Jongin’s protests. “Defend your man, Yifan!”

It was after that comment that everyone at the table began to speak at the same time.

Jongin argued that he hadn’t offended Junmyeon, while Baekhyun and Jongdae said otherwise just to annoy him. Luhan was asking Minseok about how many calories his favorite carrot cake had and Junmyeon had turned to pay attention to them, with his face completely red. Kyungsoo was explaining to Chanyeol why he didn’t like turkey and the latter was still trying to convince him that turkey was amazing, even if it made people fat.

Sehun stared at them, bewildered at their behavior. Yesterday had been something similar, but one lunch hadn’t been enough for him to get used to it. Then Yixing’s voice echoed in his mind, telling him, _“You just have to pretend you know what everyone’s talking about and you’ll do fine.”_ So taking his fork, he took a piece of chicken and continued eating as if the scene around him was normal.

And as he hoped he could end the week with his sanity intact, he realized that he now had, at least, chosen what they would have for dinner. And no, it wasn’t turkey.

 

 

“C’mon, Yifan! Why is it taking you so long?”

Sehun ignored Luhan and tried to focus on Vixen. He was supposed to bathe each one of the reindeer, but so far he had just managed to humiliate himself. Vixen was lying on the hay in his stall, staring at him—evilly mocking him, Sehun was sure—and there was no sign that he would move any time soon.

“Just make him stand up and bring him over here!”

Luhan was waiting at the showers, shampoo ready next to him. The way he was tapping his foot on the snow made him look impatient, but the frown on his face showed his worry. They had been trying with all the reindeer for over an hour, yet there had been no progress. None of them hadn’t move from their position on the floor.

“Why don’t you do it, instead?” Sehun asked, beckoning Vixen to come over.

“You’re the one who has to bond with them, not me.”

“But they don’t want to bond with me.”

“Then make them want to!” Luhan exclaimed, almost sounding annoyed. “You’re Santa Claus! Show them you’re the one in charge!”

At that, the nine reindeer stood up and peeked from over the doors of their stalls. Luhan immediately shook his hands in front of him.

“I’m kidding, guys.”

Sehun rolled his eyes and stood closer to the door.

“Alright, Vixen. Listen,” he whispered. “You already know that I’m not Yifan, so let’s go the point. My name’s Sehun and I know we don’t know each other, but I need you to help me out.”

Vixen only stared at him, flapping his ears.

“Let’s do it to save Christmas. To help Yifan.”

The reindeer huffed and slightly shook his head. So apparently he wasn’t willing to help Yifan… or to save Christmas. Or both. It was probably only the first one.

“Let’s do this for Yixing, then.”

Vixen walked closer. He stuck his head over the wooden fence of his stall and his long antlers almost hit Sehun. The reindeer stared at him, as if analyzing him, and Sehun swallowed. He really needed to have at least one of them on his side.

“Are you done sharing your secrets with each other?” Luhan asked from behind. “We don’t have time, Yifan. Hurry up.”

Sehun didn’t look at the elf. He kept his eyes glued to Vixen’s, in a silent plea that he hoped the reindeer would understand. He didn’t wait long, though. Just like a miracle, Vixen walked away and jerked his head toward the door. Sehun immediately opened it and Luhan shrieked at the back.

Vixen took his time to walk out of his stall, but Sehun couldn’t care less. He waited for Vixen to position under one of the showers and then, once he was next to him, the blissful taste of victory faded away.

“Uhm… How should I…?”

Luhan raised an eyebrow, sending him a questioning look. “Bathe him?”

Sehun slowly nodded and Luhan frowned.

“You don’t remember how to bathe your reindeer?”

“I… Uh…” Sehun scratched his head, feeling the anxiety bubbling lightly in the pit of his stomach.

Luhan sighed and walked closer. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he said. He waved his hand in the air, trying to get rid of some of the steam coming from the hot water. “I totally get your nervousness to be near them again, though. I really thought this feud would be over as soon as it had started, but it’s been already a year. I didn’t know they could hold a grudge for this long. Give me the bottle.”

Sehun reached for the shampoo bottle and silently watched as Luhan rubbed foam into Vixen’s fur.

He was curious. Really, really curious. He had already come to the conclusion that he was, indeed, missing parts of the story. It didn’t surprise him. Of course nobody would bother to update him because there was no need. Yifan already knew what was going on; he was part of the story. But Sehun wasn’t and he wanted to know.

“But why are they mad at me?” he asked, trying his best for it to sound more like a rhetorical question. “Was it that bad? What I did, I mean.”

Vixen immediately turned to look at him but he deliberately ignored him, dodging the antlers yet again and lightly rubbing the reindeer’s back to rinse the remaining foam. He was playing with fire and he knew it. Yet he wasn’t going to back up. The question had been thrown, anyway.

“You did what was best for everyone.” Luhan was now softly rubbing Vixen’s antlers. They were shinier because of the water. “And Yixing needed it. They know that. You all know that, right, Vixen?”

The reindeer huffed and Luhan shook his head.

“They know that,” the elf confirmed. “And so do we. It was the best decision, Yifan, and they’ll have to understand it.” He patted Vixen on the back and repeated, “You’ll have to understand it, you hear me?”

Vixen growled.

Luhan kept on talking to him, as if trying to soothe him, but Sehun didn’t pay attention. He was busier dealing with his confusion.

What exactly had Yifan done? What had Yixing needed? There was no way he would get those answers and for a moment he regretted even asking. They were all so mysterious and it was slightly freaking him out. He also wanted to know. He felt he deserved to know. He was part of this now.

His train of thoughts, however, got interrupted when suddenly foam fell on his eyes.

“Vixen!” Luhan had extended his arms. He tried to cover himself from the reindeer, but Vixen didn’t stop shaking his head, spreading the foam of his antlers all over them.

Sehun hissed and put his palms over his eyes. He rinsed them with the water still falling over Vixen and tried to blink. He was relieved to know he wasn’t blind but then he caught sight of Vixen’s eyes on him and he feared for his life.

He closed his eyes again and splashed more water into them. It was just to make sure there was no more foam in there. It had nothing to do with Vixen’s glare, of course, but he still made a mental note to drop any other question for the time being. He had other eight reindeer to bathe, after all, and he needed them on his side of the field.

 

 

The patches were cold against his skin and Sehun shivered. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he knew nothing good would come out of this.

When his vital signs appeared on the screen, Minseok patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s on. Here are your clothes. Please put them on.”

The elf handed him thick, black clothes. Sehun stared at them, thinking that those would’ve been useful yesterday.

“What are we working on today?” he asked, taking the garments.

“Arid climate.” Minseok smiled and patted him on the shoulder once more. “Hurry. I’ll turn off the lights once you’re ready.”

Minseok walked out The Cube and Sehun stared at the clothes again.

Arid climate. Wasn’t that… hot? It was definitely hot. He could already feel the sweat dripping down his neck and the burning sensation of standing under the sun just for one second. He didn’t like that idea. And now he had to wear clothes that would only make it worse. This was crazy. Minseok was crazy—heck, Sehun himself was crazy.

He shook his head and proceeded to dress. When he was done, the lights turned off and Minseok’s voice came out from the speakers.

_“We’ll start our normal five minutes jogs with only high temperatures, but later on we’ll work with specific desert conditions, alright? Are you ready?”_

Sehun shook his head and Minseok laughed. He glared at the window, hoping the elf could feel his rage through it. A shaky breath escaped his lips and he faced the screen, waiting for today’s torture to appear there.

_“I’ll be right here, don’t worry. Good luck, Fan!”_

Yifan’s cartoon appeared on the screen. He was standing in the middle of the desert, jumping and moving his arms around. He nodded enthusiastically and Sehun scowled. He could definitely not relate. Minseok counted down and the loud beep echoed in the arena. The cartoon started jogging and Sehun followed him, not wanting to be threatened again.

At first he didn’t feel anything. He jogged as if he were in a park on a normal spring day. But then Sehun noticed how the temperature began to increase drastically. He started sweating almost immediately. His clothes clung to his limbs, making it hard for him to keep his pace.

_“Keep on running, Fan. You can do it.”_

Sehun wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, but he only got to spread it all over his already sweaty hand. At the same time, bright yellow lights turned on, blinding him. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to it, but it was to no avail. He couldn’t see anything and the high temperature made it almost unbearable to keep moving.

The floor suddenly twisted and he blinked harder so it would stabilize again. He wasn’t sure if he succeeded but at least now he could see the ceiling reflected on the floor. Or was the floor reflected on the ceiling? Interesting. What was going on?

_“You’re doing great! You’re almost there! Your first break is three minutes away!”_

Three minutes. Three more minutes and Sehun would be able to rest.

Cool.

Fantastic.

For how long had he been running? His limbs felt weak. Maybe it had been an hour. His legs wobbled a little but he didn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop. Three minutes wasn’t a long time. He could make it. Or maybe not. He wasn’t sure.

It was now as if he were running under the sun at midday during summer. And where had the air gone? He was still breathing, he was certain of it, but he didn’t feel the air reaching his lungs. What he felt was fire. Fire that got in his nose and traveled down his throat, his chest, and finally sunk in his lungs. It was horrible.

_“Yifan?”_

He squinted at the screen, still not being able to see properly. He caught a glimpse of a thermometer next to the cartoon that marked 45°C, and a 37.8°C under the words _‘Body Temperature’_. Wow, whose temperature was that? The cartoon’s, maybe?

_“Turn off the simulator. Yifan, can you hear me?”_

Weird black dots began to float around the arena and the few things Sehun could see were blurred. It wasn’t as though that mattered. The only thing he could think about was drinking water. Could he do that? He was thirsty. And he also needed to breathe; his lungs were still burning.

Had the three minutes already passed? Would Minseok get mad if he stopped just for a moment? He wanted to stop running. He would just rest for a little while, then he would run again. Not only five minutes, but ten. Ten minutes non-stop.

The black dots became big spots. Big black spots everywhere. He didn’t even see the lights anymore. Maybe he had just closed his eyes. That was probably it. But he could still see his blurred surroundings.

Sehun heard movement in the distance but he could only focus on the weird blows inside his chest. Like a hammer. He didn’t like hammers. They always hit his fingers. And it hurt. He then heard a thud and after it, his arm hurt. Just like his chest. And his throat. And his head. And his legs. Just like everything. Had a hammer hit him?

Someone desperately called Yifan’s name, but Sehun didn’t hear an answer.

Because Yifan was sleeping.

He also wanted to sleep.

Was he allowed to sleep?

The arena had begun to spin again. Was that also part of the training? He didn’t know. And then it went all black.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo... Guess who's back?! YEs, I know. It's been a while but I finally got to finish this and I'm kinda proud, tbh. I'd been stuck on the scene where Chanyeol's teaching the other elves how to make a ribbon and I didn't know where to go from there :))))
> 
> Fortunately, I found the way to get out of it and now I'm working on chapter 5. Don't worry, I promise it won't take other three months to get it done—I hope lmao
> 
> Anyway, if you're still reading this story, thank you so, so much for waiting. And if you're new, welcome to this Christmas-ish journey on May. Hope y'all have fun! ♥
> 
> Take care of yourselves :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is:
> 
> **“Santa's Coming For Us”** by **Sia**
> 
> You can find it [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RNiHiH6jSCAtfZhRjQU1U) .  
> 
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

 

> **F I V E**
> 
> _**HO HO HOUCH** _

 

 

The air was flooded with a strong smell of ginger mixed with… antiseptic? It smelled as if someone had baked gingerbread cookies in a hospital. Why did it smell like that?

No. Wait. Who cared. Ignore that.

Where was he? Why was his head throbbing? What was that strange feeling inside him? It felt like a spark; like something bubbling in his veins. What was it? And most importantly, why did he feel like a giant hammer had crushed him?

A giant hammer…

A hammer.

He hated hammers.

Sehun groaned and tried to open his eyes. He immediately closed them. Whatever this place was had the brightest lights he had ever seen and his corneas were now burned.

"Don't open them. The light's too bright."

Ah, really? What useful information. He hadn't noticed— _wait._ Was that Junmyeon?

Sehun tried to sit, but no. Nope. Bad idea. His head throbbed and his body felt heavy.

What the hell was going on?

"Don't move, Yifan."

That was Minseok. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked, adjusting to the lights. He found one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight faces looking down at him and he frowned.

_"What the fuck?"_

The eight elves gasped and then a wave of comments hit him. Hard.

"Since when do you swear?!" Jongin asked, looking completely scandalized.

"I'm putting you in the Naughty List!" Kyungsoo exclaimed.

"This is unbelievable!" Baekhyun said. "This is unbelievable!" he repeated looking at Luhan, who was gaping at Sehun.

"You're completely out of control!" Jongdae put his hands on his hips, frowning.

"Why can he do it and I can't?!" Chanyeol asked, looking at Junmyeon.

They were all speaking at the same time and Sehun's head throbbed even harder. He wanted the floor to swallow him. Thankfully, Junmyeon and Minseok came to his rescue.

"Hey! Hey! Shut up!" Minseok exclaimed, as Junmyeon waved his hands, saying, "This is a hospital, for Claus' sake! Be quiet!"

When the silence reigned again, Sehun rubbed his temples. "What happened?"

"You passed out," Minseok said.

_Had he?_

Sehun frowned. He remembered being in the arena, the running, the horrible heat all over the place, the sweat, the dark spots… _the hammer._ Great.

"You've got a heat stroke," Junmyeon said.

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling okay?" Minseok asked. He was frowning, looking distraught.

Sehun wanted to hit his head against the wall—that would worsen his headache, but whatever. It was fair. Of course he had passed out. He wasn't used to Minseok's training and the excessive temperatures were a lot to handle for his body. There was no way he could've got alive from it. He should've seen this coming.

He gulped, trying to get rid of the dryness in his mouth. It didn't work.

"For how long did I run? Maybe it was just the time."

Minseok raised an eyebrow. "Two minutes."

Alright, that was embarrassing. Sehun hadn't expected such humiliating amount of time. He didn't have to think too much about it, though. At that moment the door opened with a loud thud and Yixing came running into the room, looking completely crazed.

"I'm here! I'm here! Where is he?! Is he alright?!"

Yixing’s hair was peaking in all directions and his shirt was messily tucked. His nose was red, his chest heaved unsteadily, and _was that dough on his cheek?_ All of a sudden, relief filled Sehun completely, and while the elves turned to look at Yixing, he let a small smile appear on his lips. Now, that was something he was familiar with.

"Breathe, Yixing," Luhan said, placing a hand on Yixing's arm. "He's okay." He jerked his head toward the bed and Yixing followed his movement.

When their eyes connected, Yixing visibly relaxed. He opened his mouth but words didn't have the chance to escape, because an elf wearing a white robe— _the doctor?_ —came in.

"Alright, gentlemen. Please make room." He stood next to the bed, checking the I.V. on Sehun's hand.

The elves gathered in a corner, squeezing each other so they wouldn't get in the way. They, however, didn't do much to improve the situation. The room was large, but not enough to have ten people being around.

Sehun looked at the elf next to him. His robe had a name tag that said 'Dr. Lee Donghae'— _yep, the doctor._

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Lee asked, this time looking at Sehun.

"My head hurts."

"Naturally. You stuck it hard against the floor."

The doctor checked Sehun's temperature and reviewed his general condition.  He checked his reflexes and put a light in his eyes. He hummed every time he got some sort of reaction from Sehun and nodded, deep in thought.

"It seems like everything’s alright," he said once he was done. "You'll have a slight headache for a while, but the magic will make you feel good."

The magic… So that was what the sparkling feeling was? Magic? Sehun looked around and stared at the I.V. The magic was probably contained in that liquid going through his veins. Wow.

"It’ll make effect in an hour or so," Dr. Lee continued. "After that, you can go home."

"Does he need to take medicine or something?" Junmyeon asked from his place in the corner.

"No, no. There’s no need.” Dr. Lee turned to look sternly at Sehun. “But I highly suggest you not to do any exhaustive work until tomorrow. I want you to rest.” Sehun nodded and the doctor smiled. He then looked at the elves. “I would like for someone to stay with him, so who's—"

“I’ll do it!” Yixing and Junmyeon exclaimed at the same time, interrupting Dr. Lee. Both elves looked at each other and Junmyeon immediately added, _“You?”_

A weird silence fell over the room and Sehun cringed at the awkwardness of the situation. He wanted Yixing to be the one to stay, though.

“I… yeah?” Yixing said, looking completely uncomfortable. “I mean, you all still have things to do, and there aren’t many holes to fix right now, anyway. I can do it.”

Junmyeon stared at Yixing for a moment and then sighed. “Alright. Just let us know when he’s home.” When Yixing nodded, Junmyeon smiled at him and said, “We’ll get going, then.” He squeezed Yixing’s shoulder as a farewell, patted Sehun’s feet, and then walked to leave the room.

One by one, the rest of the elves did the same, including Dr. Lee. Once the room was empty, Sehun sighed, letting his head fall back on the pillow. He saw how Yixing pulled a chair to sit next to the bed and then placed his arms on the mattress, resting his chin on them. He was so close now, that Sehun could feel Yixing’s breathing in his own hand. There was also a soft frown between his eyebrows and his lips were slightly pursed. His hair was still disheveled and he confirmed that the brown stain on Yixing’s cheek was dough. Sehun found it kind of endearing.

"Hi," he mumbled, smiling softly when they made eye contact.

"Hey," Yixing said, almost whispering. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better.” Yixing’s frown deepened, and Sehun felt the urge to disappear it. He didn't like that look on the elf. “But I'll be fine. The magic’s doing a good job."

Yixing narrowed his eyes, as if deciding whether he was being lied to or not. His conclusion was that he wasn’t, apparently, because he then said, “Sleep. You still need to rest.”

“I'm fine. I'll rest later at Yifan's.”

“No, you can do it now. And then tonight, _at_ _home_."

Sehun sat up immediately, not even caring about the way his head throbbed _._ " _Home?"_

“What are you doing?!” Yixing jumped from the chair and pushed him back on the bed. “Don't get up!”

“I can't go home!” Sehun ignored him, still trying to sit up. Yixing pushed him every time he tried to, and he was sure they looked ridiculous. “What about Yifan? And Christmas? There are still things to be done. You can’t—”

“I’ll talk to the others and we'll see what we’ll do,” Yixing said, frowning down at him. “But in the meantime, I’ll take you back to Seoul. There's no way I'm letting you stay.”

“But—“ Sehun gave up and complied when the elf tried to push him down again. “But why?”

“Because I'm responsible of you and I'm not willing to risk your life again.”

“You're not responsible of me.” Sehun rolled his eyes. “I'm an adult, in case you haven't noticed.”

Yixing huffed and sat back. “You were supposed to be at the mall, Sehun. Not in a hospital, with liquid magic flowing through your veins.” He rubbed his face, suddenly looking exhausted. “I should’ve known this would happen. You weren't prepared for it and I didn’t stop to think it could go wrong. You’re here because of me.”

"I agree that it could've been avoided, but this”—Sehun shook his I.V.-free hand around, signaling the room—“wasn't your fault. I’m here because I didn't remember what my physical limits are." Yixing tried to speak but Sehun shook his head, without stopping his speech. "Besides, you didn't force me to follow you all the way to the North Pole. I'm here because _I chose_ to be here."

Disbelief took control over Yixing's face and he stared at Sehun, his mouth slightly open. He took his time to think about something to shoot back. When Sehun heard the elf sigh, though, he knew he had won.

"Well, whatever." Yixing sprawled in the chair, letting his arms rest on his lap. "We’ll just wait until magic does its job and then I’ll take you home."

Okay, nope. He hadn’t won.

“Yixing, you can’t send me home.” Sehun struggled for a moment, but he finally managed to sit. “This isn’t about me. Or you. Bigger things are at risk. We’ve already got this far, so we might as well get it done.”

The elf narrowed his eyes again and Sehun began to wonder if everything he was saying made sense. It did have logic in his head. Yet again, he had hit it against the floor, so he couldn’t be so sure.

They stared at each other with Sehun’s vital signs as the only noise in the room. Eventually, a slight smile spread across Yixing’s face. He shook his head and moved to rest his arms back on the mattress and his head on top of them.

_“Fine.”_

Sehun raised his eyebrows, enjoying the taste of victory. “What did you say?”

Yixing rolled his eyes, but his smile didn't falter. “I said fine.”

Sehun leaned back again and placed his arm behind his head. “Thank you, pointy ears.”

That made Yixing snort.

“Don't. If this happens again, I'll send you home.”

“Don’t worry. It won't.”

Yixing turned his head to rest his cheek on his arms, with a curious look on his face. “How come you’re so sure?”

“I’m not, but we're in this together. There's no way I'm letting you do it alone.”

Surprise flashed in Yixing’s eyes but he still nodded, smiling at him.

"Alright, then…" he said. He stayed in silence for a little while, and then added, "In that case, we need to practice your laugh."

" _What?"_

"We need to practice your laugh."

"No, I heard that, but… What?"

"Mastering Santa’s laugh is essential to our plan, Sehun.” Yixing straightened up again. “If you fail in deliver his joyful laugh, everyone’s going to notice you’re an impostor. So, we need to practice.”

An impostor. Cool. Never had Sehun felt this dirty in his life. It was horrible. But alright, thanks.

Staring at the elf, he considered his options. His head was still slightly throbbing and if he contracted his abdomen, his muscles hurt. He wasn't in the mood; not really. But what else was there for him to do? It seemed that he did need to practice.

"Okay. Alright." Sehun took a sitting position again. "What am I supposed to do?”

Yixing excitedly began to explain that Santa’s laugh wasn’t some random shit—not his exact words, mind you, but that was what he had meant, anyway—and there was a whole deep meaning and technique behind it. It was a way for Santa to express his joy and love, for Christmas and his job. It represented the pride he felt for being who he was.

There were three things to have in mind.

The first one was that volume was an important factor. It had to be a hearty laugh, but not boisterous. He needed to start low, letting the volume slowly build-up, and not jump right into the _Ho-Ho-Ho-_ s—lest he wanted it to sound forced. That was far from what they wanted.

The second one was that the sound came right from the belly. It started at the diaphragm and he had to let it go all the way up.

Finally, it was vital to laugh with his entire body; to express with his whole being how much he was enjoying what he was doing. The hint to let him know he was expressing it right, was the shake of his shoulders.

“Now try it,” Yixing said, waving his hand.

Sehun swallowed and took a breath.

Ho Ho Ho. That was it. Easy-peasy. But he really didn’t want to do it.

Was it necessary? Probably.

Was it ridiculous? Definitely.

Could he avoid it? Most likely not.

“Can we, maybe, practice later?” he asked, scratching his head.

“We’ve got time now.”

Sehun made a face, but still complied. How hard could it be, anyway? He had heard enough Santas in his life to know what he was seeking to reproduce. So he opened his mouth, felt the air go down his chest, let it out and was immediately ashamed of the howled _Ho-Ho-Ho_ that came out. It had sounded terrible; like an injured-dog version of Santa.

Yixing threw his head back, cracking up completely at his failed attempt. Sehun frowned. Heat crept up his cheeks and he hated to be connected to the electrocardiograph. His heart rate sped up slightly; the evidence of it rumbling around the room.

“Don’t laugh!” he whined and Yixing tried to stop. It was a futile attempt. “Yixing!”

“Holy nutcracker!” Yixing exclaimed, gasping for air. “What in the world was _that?!”_

Sehun’s frown deepened. He crossed his arms, glaring at the elf.

“Okay, okay. Sorry.” Yixing shook his head, wiping away his tears. His smile was still there, but at least he wasn’t making fun of him anymore. Good. “Try again, but this time, let the sound bubble up from your tummy.”

Reluctantly, Sehun opened his mouth again. He took a deep breath and then let the _Ho-Ho-Ho_ flow out down from his belly.

Yixing hummed and nodded slightly, but his lips were pursed. He moved forward to place his arms back on the bed.

“That was better, but you can improve,” he said. “It was as though you simply let the sound out without any intention. Try to make it sound caring; loving. Like you’re having fun.”

Impossible. He wasn't having fun. His head wasn't throbbing anymore, though. That was something. He took another deep breath and felt it rumbling around his belly. He took his time and then let it out. It was still painfully disappointing.

"I can't do this," he whined again, covering his face with one arm. "How does Yifan do it? This is hard!"

"It's not. The trick's just in having fun." Yixing patted Sehun's leg twice. "Go again. I know you can do it."

Sehun groaned, pressing his arm harder into his face.

 _Just have fun,_ he thought. _The trick's just in having fun._

He could do that. Have fun. That wasn't hard. He had experience.

He removed his arm and once again sucked in a breath. This time, he had in mind his goal. He would enjoy this and have fun and make Yixing have fun in the process. The air rumbled around his belly again. Sehun puffed his chest out and then let out a jolly, "Ho Ho H— _ouch!"_

His sore muscles contracted, so of course it hurt. Laughing had never been this painful.

Yixing of course was completely insensible at his suffering and burst of laughter, clapping like a seal.

"Ho Ho Houch!" the elf exclaimed, letting his head hang off the back of the chair.

Sehun couldn't help himself and laughed with him. His eyes watered and he wasn't sure whether it was because of the laughter or the pain in the muscles of his abdomen. Maybe it was both, but he didn't stop.

"Please tell me you did that on purpose!" Yixing coughed, still laughing, and for a moment Sehun worried he would die. He didn't.

"That was Santa's new laugh," Sehun said, placing a hand to his side, where the muscles hurt the most. "Did you like it?"

Yixing shook his head, finally calming down. "It was atrocious."

"Shut up, it was better than the original."

"Whatever makes you feel good."

Yixing beamed at him and Sehun swore that his eyes had never looked so bright.

His own eyes darted to Yixing’s cheek and without giving it a second thought, he reached for the table next to the bed. He took a tissue and slowly reached Yixing’s face. The elf widened his eyes, but didn’t move away, and Sehun smiled when he noticed his confused expression.

“You have…” he drawled, gently cleaning the cookie dough on Yixing’s cheek. Once he was done, he made a ball with the tissue and placed it on the table. “You had dough,” he explained.

An intense flush spread over Yixing’s face. He brought his hand to his cheek, trying to clean the dough that was no longer there.

“Is it gone?”

Sehun nodded and Yixing reluctantly put his hand down.

They didn’t say anything else after that.

They just stared at each other and Sehun found himself not being able to pull his eyes away from Yixing’s. He really liked them. It was probably because they had something that he had never seen in anyone else; something that he couldn’t put a name to, but was there, nonetheless.

In the back of his head, the thought of never looking somewhere else appeared. It wasn’t that bad of an idea. He wouldn’t really mind. Would they look different up close? Sehun was curious. They were less than a meter away, so he could easily get close enough to discover it. He just had to move a little bit and—

“Hello, Santa. How are you feeling?”

Out of the blue, a nurse entered the room, holding a pad. None of them had expected her sudden presence, so they jumped, and whatever it was what they were having, came to an end.

Yixing immediately sat up straight and darted his eyes away, with a soft red spreading through his face once again.

Sehun cleared his throat and shook slightly his head. He felt lightheaded; as if he had been in a trance. He also felt embarrassed; uncomfortable, even. Fortunately, the nurse began to ask him questions and that gave him the chance not to think about it.

He glanced at Yixing every now and then, but the elf kept his eyes glued to the nurse’s hands all the time. Sehun didn’t know why, but he felt the urge to gain back Yixing’s attention. He didn’t succeed, though. Yixing seemed clearly flustered enough not to look in his direction and Sehun wasn't sure whether he was thankful for it or not.

He was aware of the weird feeling bubbling inside him and it caught him off guard. It wasn’t unpleasant. Not that much, at least. But he chose not to pay it any attention. There was no need. After all, it was probably just the magic flowing through his veins.

It had to be.

What else could it be if not, then?

 

 

 

 

“I’m not getting in that thing with you,” Sehun deadpanned, staring at the so-familiar-helicopter-like sleigh.

“Do you prefer going back on foot?” Yixing asked, completely unbothered with the icy wind that blew and ruffled their hair.

Sehun limited himself to shiver, not caring about stopping his teeth from chattering. He hugged his thick jacket to his body and silently wished he could go back inside the hospital.

“The weather’s really nice, actually,” Yixing continued. “A walk may do you good.”

Sehun would’ve glared at him, but the wind was freezing him to the bone. He almost told Yixing that he had changed his mind and he did want to go back home.

“So?” Yixing pressed.

Trying his best not to tremble, Sehun finally turned to glare at him. He wanted to argue about the lack of safety that implied having him behind the steering wheel, but he also wanted not to freeze to death. There was no other way but to go back driving the sleigh. Yixing obviously knew that, so when Sehun didn’t complain after the glare, a smug smile appeared on the elf’s face.

“That’s what I thought,” Yixing said, walking toward the vehicle.

Sehun followed him, being careful not to dip his feet too much in the snow. Yixing opened the door for him and once he was sitting on the red, soft seat, warm engulfed him immediately. He took a deep breath, hoping it would warm his body from the inside as well. When Yixing slid into the driver’s seat and turned the machine on, Sehun didn’t waste time and pushed the green button to secure themselves with the seatbelts.

“You do realize,” he mumbled, adjusting the seatbelt on his waist, “that I just survived death a few hours ago and now we’re heading back toward it, right?”

“Nobody’s going to die. Why are you so dramatic?”

“Not dramatic; just realistic.”

Of course there was no way Yixing would do anything that might put them in danger—not on purpose, at least—but Sehun’s survival instinct had learned with just a trip with the elf that it wasn’t that safe to be in any vehicle with him. He was kind of scared. Just a little bit.

Yixing rolled his eyes and stared at the board again. He looked unsure for a moment, but then he punched the buttons, as if there hadn't been what seemed to be doubt. For a moment Sehun wondered if walking around with the cold breeze was, in fact, safer than letting Yixing touch any other button.

“Did you also steal this like the one we used at the mall?” Sehun asked, watching the screens come back to life.

“ _What?_ I never—” Yixing looked back at him with an indignant expression. “I didn’t steal that one!”

“No?”

“No! I _borrowed_ it.”

Sehun snorted, but pursed his lips to contain his laughter when the elf glared at him. He didn’t succeed.

“Shut up! It was borrowed!” Yixing insisted, staring straight again. “I don’t steal.”

There was a pout on his lips that made Sehun both want to laugh harder and to reach and poke his cheek. He just did the first.

“Alright, sorry,” he said once he had calmed down. “But _this_ one, how did it get here?”

“Junmyeon, probably.”

“Does he even know you have no idea how to land it properly?”

Yixing narrowed his eyes at him, but continued preparing the sleigh to take off. “He was expecting Yifan to drive. _Obviously.”_

Sehun hummed, trying to suppress his smile. Annoying Yixing was kind of fun. “Obviously,” he said.

Yixing threw him a sarcastic smile and didn’t comment anything else. He started the sleigh and in a few seconds they were high up in the air. They moved at low speed, which allowed Sehun to appreciate the city once more from above. The buildings looked small. Really, really small. It was still impressive. In the distance he saw a pink Northern Light and he couldn't take his eyes off it. He wondered how it would be to fly through it. Maybe Yixing could take them to—

 _"Oh my God!"_ he screamed when his stomach dropped to the floor.

He looked at the front and realized the sleigh had changed its direction. They were now going down really fast and he just confirmed that he hated roller coasters. The factory was literally in front of them. They had to land and of course Yixing had chosen to plummet the sleigh without even thinking.

Sehun latched his hands for dear life to the seat and turned to look at the elf. He found him with his hands pressed to the screen and his eyes closed.

His fucking eyes were closed.

 _Again_.

"What are you doing?! Open your eyes!"

The elf didn't react. He just screeched his teeth and pressed his hands harder to the screen.

“We’re going to crash and we’re going to die! For fucking life, Yixing! Open them!”

Yixing shook his head and retreated on his seat. They were still a considerable distance away from the floor, but just as the first time, the plummeting speed increased with each second that passed. They were running out of time and screaming at Yixing wasn’t the best thing to do. He would try to encourage him, instead, then.

"Come on, Xing! You can do it!" Sehun warily checked how many distance was left and felt the panic rising in his chest. The buildings weren’t small anymore. "I know you can do it. I'll be here all the time."

Just as the last sentence had left his mouth, Sehun felt stupid. Of course he would be there even if he didn’t want to. He couldn't go anywhere. He almost rolled his eyes, but he stopped himself when he realized that his words had worked and a pair of panicked eyes was staring right at him. He nodded, smiling a little even if he didn’t feel confident at all.

Yixing slowly turned his head away from him, and Sehun did the same. However, they didn't have enough time to do anything else. Just as they were finally facing forward, both began to scream. The distance between the floor and them had diminished, leaving them without space to avoid the inevitable crash.

Yixing immediately pressed the brake button, but it didn't make much difference. The sleigh hit the floor with such force that not even the seatbelts were enough to prevent them from crashing into the board. Sehun hit his head with something, probably the ceiling, and he was sure he had also heard a loud thud coming from Yixing's side.

The machine was forced to stop violently with the crash. Silence would’ve reigned, hadn’t a beep sound come from somewhere inside the sleigh. Sehun opened his eyes and saw that the lights had turned red and were twinkling along with the beeps. He faced Yixing, then, and he wasn't surprised to find him with his eyes clenched again; his hands still pressed against the board. His words hadn’t worked at the end, but hey! At least they were still alive.

“Are you alright?” he asked, bringing a hand to his forehead. He already had a lump and it was huge. _Yay._

Yixing kept his eyes closed for a moment, taking slow, deep breaths. He nodded, eventually, finally looking at him as he rubbed his elbow.

“You?”

“I’m okay,” Sehun mumbled, reaching to press the seatbelt button. “But would you be up for maybe taking some driving classes. I offer myself as your instructor and I’ll do it for free. We can use my car.”

Huffing, Yixing pressed another button and the sleigh went out. "I don't think sleighs work the same as cars."

"Probably not, but you would learn how to drive."

"How do you know I haven’t learned?"

Sehun didn't. He didn’t know how sleighs worked, either, but teaching Yixing—even if he had already learned—would help him lose his fear of driving and braking. Especially braking.

“Well, I don’t,” he replied, rubbing his forehead again. “But I believe it’s a good idea. For the sake of world's population.”

Yixing shook his head, smiling. “I’ll think about it,” he said. He then opened the doors and they stepped out on the snow again.

Sehun took a few steps away and glanced at the sleigh from afar. The impact had created a small crater around it, and he wondered whether they would’ve ended up buried in the snow had the speed been higher. They probably would’ve. The sleigh was covered with snow and part of the front was dented, with black smoke coming out from the engines.

"We destroyed it," he mumbled, not believing his eyes.

Yixing stared at the machine and scratched the back of his neck. “It’s not that… bad,” he said. “I think Jongdae can fix it.”

“Won’t they suspect us?”

“Why would they?”

“Well, how are you going to explain”—Sehun gestured at the sleigh rapidly—“this?”

Yixing shrugged. “Yifan had just come out from the hospital, right? He wasn’t completely fine. Accidents happen.”

Sehun raised his eyebrows and a smirk made its way through his lips. “Are you going to lie?”

Scrunching his face up, Yixing considered Sehun’s words. “It wouldn’t be a lie. It was an accident.”

This was amazing. Sehun couldn’t believe his ears.

“What a good day to be alive,” he said and chuckled when Yixing rolled his eyes.

“Come on,” the elf said. “You’re going to freeze.”

He started walking away and Sehun widened his eyes.

"Wait! Wait! Are we leaving it there?" he asked. Yixing faced him again and nodded. "Just like that?"

"Uhm…" Yixing tilted his head to his right. "Yes?"

Sehun gaped at him. Not only had they destroyed it, but would also leave it in the snow without even caring. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but it felt as though they were escaping like some criminals, leaving their mess to other people to clean for them. That wasn’t cool.

"Someone will come retrieve it later," Yixing said. "And anyway, I’m sure it won’t start even if we try. We can't move it. We can’t do anything about it."

Sehun stared back at the sleigh. It did look bad. Someone would notice there was something off with all this situation and he was afraid they couldn’t get away with it. Yixing, however, wasn’t sharing his worry, or so it seemed. He was patiently waiting for Sehun to catch up with him, so taking a last glance at the fuming machine, Sehun followed the elf into the factory, deciding he would trust Yixing.

They entered a lobby that had marble tiles on the floor with painted candy canes following a pattern that made it look like a chessboard. The gingerbread walls had Christmas lights hanging around and in one corner, a leafy Christmas tree brought life to the quiet place. Sehun walked slowly, taking it all in, and for a moment he wondered how many Christmas trees were around the factory. What would ecologists say about this? They would probably be against it.

“Oh, you’re back!”

At the back of the lobby was a large desk. Behind it, an elf with pink hair was smiling and waving at them with a lot of enthusiasm, as if they hadn’t seen each other for years—and Sehun guessed they hadn’t. Not even once, actually.

“Hello, Santa!” the elf said once they were close to the desk. “And Yixing!”

“Hi, Taeyong,” Yixing said, stopping in front of the desk.

Sehun stood next to him and waved back at Taeyong, ignoring the elf’s curious stare.

“That lump looks bad.” Taeyong pointed at his own forehead. "You really hit the floor hard, huh?”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Sehun said, gracing his fingers on the lump. It hadn’t been caused by the floor, he wanted to add, but he refrained himself.

“Everyone’s saying that it happened because you’re stressed.”

“Are they?” Yixing asked.

Taeyong nodded. "But you don’t have to stress about anything!” he said, looking at Sehun. “This Christmas won’t be ruined. Not now that—” He stopped amid sentence, widening his eyes and putting his hand immediately to his mouth. He looked back and forth between Sehun and Yixing and a light pink ran along his cheeks.

Sehun frowned, not understanding Taeyong’s abrupt reaction. What did he mean? Had Christmas been ruined once? When? And why? Why was he so distressed about it? He didn’t understand.

"I…” Taeyong put his hand down and swallowed. “Not that Christmas has ever been ruined, but— Uh… You know how last—"

“We get it, Taeyong," Yixing cut him, tapping the desk with his palm twice. "Santa’s doing fine. Don’t worry. Now if you excuse us." He smiled at the elf and patting Sehun's arm, added, "Come on.”

The pink on Taeyong’s face intensified, but he simply nodded, trying to avoid eye contact with them. Sehun felt sorry for him, but he didn’t say anything else. He waved at the embarrassed elf and followed Yixing out of the lobby.

They stepped into the Manufacturing and Wrapping departments, then, and all the elves stopped working to pay attention to them as they walked down the other side of the area. Fortunately for Sehun, none of them approached, even if they looked like they wanted to. He would bet Chanyeol and Jongin had asked them to stay away so he could go back to bed as soon as possible and he actually thanked them for that—not that he wasn’t fine, now, though. He was feeling quite good; crash damages included. But he wasn’t ready to explain why he had fainted.

Soon after, they were stepping out the elevator into Yifan’s apartment and a relieved sigh escaped Sehun's lips. He headed to the office and pushed the door open, but Yixing immediately stopped him.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Uh…” Sehun looked at the door, then back at Yixing. “To read letters?”

“No, no.” Yixing shook his head, emphasizing his words. “Dr. Lee said you need to rest. You should go to sleep.“

“But I don’t want to sleep,” Sehun said, letting go of the door. “And I don’t think I need to rest. Whatever that liquid magic did was pretty efficient.”

Back at the hospital, he had considered asking if he could take some of that weird magic home. He didn’t know what it had done, but once it had made effect, all the soreness and pain had faded away. It could be useful to have some of it stored. His limbs still felt heavy, though, and he was tired, but he attributed it more to the crazy events of the day than to anything else. It wasn’t something he couldn’t handle, anyway.

“You fainted not even 3 hours ago, Sehun.” Yixing shook his head again. “You should rest. I’ll do the reading today.”

“Reading letters isn’t exhaustive. Let me help.”

Yixing narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“More than sure.”

“And you’re not lying to me?”

Sehun smiled and shook his head. “I’m not. Promise.”

Yixing's eyes remained narrowed a moment longer, but he finally sighed and pushed Sehun inside the office.

They took the same position as the day before—Sehun at the shelves, Yixing next to the mailboxes—and proceeded to work. For a while they were in a comfortable silence, focused on their tasks, until Sehun got to a letter from Adelle, 6, French, who wrote she didn't want anything because she knew Santa wasn't real.

"Uh… Yixing?" The elf turned around and Sehun pointed at the letter. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Yixing stood next to him and Sehun tensed. The elf was so close that he would bump his nose on Sehun’s cheek should he turn his head just a little bit. He didn’t move away, but Sehun was tired enough not to get into a ramble about the importance of personal space. Besides, Yixing’s cinnamon scent was somewhat calming. It reminded him of a cozy bed— no.

A bed no.

That was weird.

A cozy… something else.

A cozy whatever. It didn’t matter.

He simply let Yixing stay there, reading, while he pretended not to feel his chest pressing next to him.

"She's so young," Yixing eventually mumbled, sounding completely disappointed.

Sehun slightly turned his face, enough to glance at the elf and not bump with him. He found him frowning, with a pout on his lips.

Yixing took the yellow paper from Sehun's hands and finally walked away toward the desk.

“What happens with kids who don’t believe anymore?”

“All the letters, including these"—Yixing shook the one in his hands. He took out a big box from under the desk and placed it inside—"are recycled to make wrapping paper. As for the kids, they don’t receive anything.”

“Just like that?”

“That’s how it works.” Yixing shrugged and went back to stand next to the mailboxes. “You believe, you get a gift. You don’t believe, you’re erased from the list. We can’t produce for those who don’t believe anymore. It’s expensive and there’s no point, anyway.”

He wasn’t sure what Yixing saw in his face, but the elf sent him a sad smile and added, “I know it sounds… bad. And trust me, we don’t like it. They’re still kids, after all. But we can’t fight against their beliefs, nor can go around the world proving to each one of them that Santa does exist."

It did sound bad; to let kids think that everything they had believed about Christmas was a lie. But it made sense, in some way. Yixing was right. There was no way they could make all those kids change their minds.

Sehun stared at the translated version of Adelle’s letter. He shook his head and moved on. The next one was, fortunately, one from Emmanuel, a Colombian boy asking for a new set of car toys. A little smile appeared on his lips as he saw the kid's Index on the screen. It was 8. He had been a good kid; he would get his—

"Sehun?"

He turned around and saw Yixing placing the letters on their respective mailbox, with a deep frown wrinkling his forehead.

“Yes?”

"When…" Yixing faced him as he toyed with a letter. "When did you stop believing?"

Sehun was taken aback. When had he? He knew the answer, but he wasn't sure whether he wanted Yixing to know. For some reason he didn't want to disappoint him. He could always lie, but he discarded the option as soon as it popped in his head. Lying to Yixing was even worse. He should just stick to the truth—and that's what he did.

"I was 9."

The shock in Yixing's face made his stomach churn in a bad way, but it didn't stop him from telling him the whole story.

After the winter break of the year he had turned 9, one of the kids in his class, Taeil, had come back claiming that Santa wasn't real. That his cousin Hakyeon, who was 13, had told him so. Hakyeon was bigger; more experienced. He knew way more things than them. Then, of course, he had to be right, meaning that Santa wasn't real. Taeil had sounded so convincing that the other kids, even Johnny, had completely believed him.

Sehun had been skeptical, though. Something within him had told him that that Hakyeon kid couldn't be right. Santa was real, he was sure of it. But the rest of the kids had believed Taeil's words and Sehun was smart enough to realize that admitting that his thoughts were different from theirs would cause him some trouble. So whenever the topic was brought, he pretended to agree with them. That was when he realized that it was easy for him to lie—or maybe that was when he learned _how_ to lie.

He kept the act for months and thought he had it under control. His mind, however, slowly forgot that it was all a pretense. Then the next winter break arrived and Sehun had already decided that he wouldn't write a letter, because Santa was, in fact, not real.

"But…" Yixing said. His frown hadn't done anything but deepen and his eyes were wide; sadness, confusion and maybe disappointment perfectly noticeable. "Didn't you ever wonder if maybe you had been right and Santa did exist?"

Sehun nodded.

"Then why didn't you change your mind again?"

Good question.

Why hadn't he?

Sehun had never thought about it.

"I guess that…" he began. "That it wasn't important, anymore. I grew up and focused on other things. Then puberty came, and high school, and university. Later I graduated and my focus was on finding a place to live, a job. I guess I just… I became an adult."

Yixing was looking at him with such sadness in his eyes that Sehun wanted to take his words back. He didn't want to upset him more—had he really upset Yixing? He didn’t like the feeling—so he turned back and continued reading.

He had read other fours letters when he heard Yixing's voice again.

"What did you study?"

Sehun probably looked as confused as he felt because the elf smiled and asked again.

"At uni. What did you study?"

Sehun’s eyebrows raised up to his hairline. Yixing was so random sometimes, but it was probably part of his nature to try and make everyone feel comfortable. Their current situation required it, so Sehun guessed it was fine.

And he didn’t mind, either.

Yixing didn’t know much about him, now that he thought about it. Not beyond of the basics, anyway. So far, the only questions the elf had asked were those at the sleigh on their flight from Seoul to the North Pole; those about his favorite color or cookies, or preferences between coke or water, coffee or tea, but nothing more. Nothing that let him know further than what was needed given their circumstances.

So yeah, he didn’t mind. He was fine with sharing bits of his life with Yixing as much as Yixing had been with him.

Putting the letter in his hands down, he turned to face the elf.

“Accounting.”

“You’re an accountant?!” Yixing asked, scrunching his nose up. 

Sehun raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Any problem with it, pointy ears?”

“Well, no, but… Isn’t it boring?”

"No, not to me.”

“Hm…” Yixing narrowed his eyes. “You’re a boring person, then.”

Sehun burst into laughter and Yixing smiled.

"Working here doesn't exactly make you a fun person, you know?" Sehun leaned back in the shelf, crossing his arms and his legs by his ankles. "How does someone end up working for Santa, anyway?"

" _With_ Santa," Yixing corrected. "And it’s easy to work here, really. All you need is a little knowledge about any of the fields in which any of the departments here are focused. Most of us get general basic knowledge of all eight fields in high school, but many reinforce one of them at uni by choosing a career related to the department they would like to work at.”

Sehun’s eyebrows rose yet again and he pushed himself away from the shelf. 

“You’ve got yourselves a university?!”

“Friendly reminder we’re not Neanderthals, Sehun. Our prestigious N.P.U. is a thing.”

"Our prestigious N.P.U.…” Sehun repeated, going back to his position against the shelf. “Did you study there?"

"Yep." Yixing copied Sehun's posture, leaning in one of the carts and crossing his arms.

“And what's your degree?”

“Toy manufacturing engineering.”

_“You’re an engineer?!”_

“I…” Yixing shifted, causing the cart to creak slightly. “Yeah?”

Sehun didn’t choke simply because his mouth went dry.

Yixing had chosen an engineering.

Yixing was an engineer.

Engineers were… hot.

Or maybe it was just the stereotype, but still.

Not that he was saying that Yixing was hot, but… Well. _Yixing was hot_ , wasn’t he? Kinda? Like, Yixing was cute, right? And that diverted the attention almost completely. But anyone willing to pay enough attention would see that under all that cuteness, Yixing was attractive as hell.

Right?

Right.

He didn’t even know when he had begun to find Yixing attractive. Probably since they were at the mall, but he was thinking about it just now. Maybe. Maybe not. It didn't matter. He was going through a weird train of thoughts ever since that awkward moment at the hospital. He needed to get out of it.

“Toy manufacturing engineering,” he mumbled. “Is that even a degree?”

“I hope it is,” Yixing said and his face twisted in a funny way. “If not, then there go five years of my life wasted.”

Sehun shook his head. “Are all the N.P.U. degrees this particular?”

“I guess? I mean, it does offer common degrees, like law or accounting.” The elf sent him a pointed look, half smiling. “But it has eight extra degrees that are strictly focused on the factory’s needs.”

And so, Sehun learned that Minseok had a degree in Weather Training Science; Luhan in Polar Veterinary Science; Junmyeon in Mailing Translation; Baekhyun in International Logistics and Transport; Chanyeol in Craft Arts; and Kyungsoo in Behavioral Statistics. As for Jongdae and Jongin, they had an engineering. Jongdae in Sleigh Mechanical and Jongin, just like Yixing, in Toy Manufacturing.

He also learned, after having asked and witnessed Yixing's indignant expression, that they hadn't got their jobs thanks to their friendship with Yifan. It had nothing to do with it, actually. Whenever the head of a department decided it was already time to retire, the whole department went through a series of tests. Whoever obtained the best results became the new head. Thus the eight elves had climbed up the hierarchical order in their respective departments thanks to nothing but their knowledge.

Sehun was impressed. As far as he could grasp, they had developed a quite efficient system that worked just fine and it was all under the pretense of being an uninhabited place on Earth. And looking at Yixing excitedly telling him how their dynamics functioned only motivated him to keep on asking. Sehun was curious about this world. About its people. About Yixing. But his curiosity, however, wasn't distracting enough not to notice that something about all of this was somehow out of place.

Yixing was a toy manufacturing engineer, wasn't he? Why was he making cookie dough, then? It wasn’t his business, of course, but it was just… interesting.

“So,” he said. “I totally get how all this works. Kinda. But…” He frowned, searching for the correct words. “What about you?”

Yixing visibly stiffened.

“What about me?” 

"Why aren’t you working with Jongin?"

"Jongin?"

"You’re supposed to be working with him, right? Both are Toy Manufacturing engineers. So"—Sehun tilted his head to the side, squinting a little—"why aren’t you, like, manufacturing toys, too? It doesn't make sense.”

Yixing stared at him for a moment, then said, "Thought that at this point you already knew that not everything made sense here." He looked away, clearing his throat. "I mean, you're in the North Pole speaking to an elf who bribed you to come and pretend to be Santa, using a small pearl made out of a snowflake and some magic."

Yixing looked back at him and shrugged.

"You've got a point." Sehun narrowed his eyes and nodded once. "But still, it doesn't explain why you're not making toys."

Sighing, Yixing turned around and continued placing the letters in the mailboxes.

"The Gingerbread Cookies department needed elves,” he started, not facing Sehun. "I’m an elf, so I applied. It’s not that hard to understand, is it?"

Yixing shoot him a small smile, looking back over his shoulder, but the tone in his voice sounded final; like he wasn’t going to answer any more questions.

Sehun wanted to ask more, though. He always wanted to ask more. He was intrigued and the more he stayed, the more he realized that there was a whole world to discover. But there were times when it was necessary to relent, and Sehun was smart enough to see that this was one of those. So deciding to leave it for later, he changed the topic, hoping to bring some peace of mind to Yixing, at least for a moment.

“Uhm, Yixing?” He pretended to struggle opening an envelope, trying to act nonchalant about everything.  “Would you like to practice again? I think the _Ho Ho Ho_ and all that need some… arrangements."

Yixing took his time to react, but then snorted loudly and Sehun smiled, feeling proud of himself. The elf nodded and continued sorting the letters.

Sehun came up with seven different versions of Santa’s laughter, and while each sounded more ridiculous than the other, he didn’t mind acting like a fool. After all, this was part of their deal, and the way Yixing was laughing at him made it all completely worth it, somehow.

For a moment he stopped to think about where this thought was coming from, but he tossed it aside almost immediately. It was another one of the things that didn’t make sense, so there was no need to entertain it any further. There were more important matters, anyway.

Like the bunch of letters that he still had to read, for example. Or the ridiculous way Yixing laughed, but still managed to make him sound endearing. Or the way Yixing’s eyes twinkled almost every single minute of the day. Or the way Yixing's six dimples showed whenever he made any facial expression— _yes_ , they were six, and Sehun wasn’t even sure of how he had got that information.

He shook his head and focused back on his tasks in hand.

He could always find his answers later, when he didn't have letters to read anymore.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so… hi? :))))) How’re you doing? I’m still alive and yeah, it’s been another long period of time between updates but what can I say? I suck at scheduling myself so of course the things I do tend to suffer the consequences—yes, I mean my writing gets horribly delayed. Yikes.
> 
> I was planning to get a few chapters done before updating again, in the hopes of finally arranging a decent posting schedule. BUT! Some things have come in the middle and I kinda have given them a little bit more of priority. This doesn’t mean I won’t continue this—if anyone’s still reading it, that is. I’m just gonna put it a little pause but I’ll certainly get this finished. Maybe by the end of the year, when Christmas is back? I don’t promise anything, but we’ll see!
> 
> Also, I think I haven’t done this before but I guess it’s alright? Idk, but if you wanna scream at me bc I don’t update, or give me some constructive criticism over my works, or overall just wanna say hello, feel free to hit me up on [twitter](https://twitter.com/xingminator) or discord _**[Frappexo#4637]**_. I’ll be glad to talk to you! ♥
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! Have a super duper nice day/night! ♥(:


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